Comprehensive Treatment Strategy for Internal Carotid Artery Blowout Syndrome Caused by Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate a treatment strategy for internal carotid artery blowout syndrome caused by nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

STUDY DESIGN

A retrospective analysis of a case series was performed.

SETTING

Carotid blowout syndrome is a catastrophic complication caused by malignant tumor of the skull base.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis based on 69 patients with internal carotid artery blowout syndrome admitted to our center between April 2018 and January 2020 was performed. The patients were divided into 2 groups: an EBBA (internal carotid artery embolization + bypass based on American Society of Intervention and Therapeutic Neuroradiology/Society of Interventional Radiology [ASITN/SIR]) group and an embolization/stent group. The follow-up time was 6 to 9 months.

RESULTS

In the EBBA group, 41 patients (41/49, 83.7%) survived. Forty patients had a satisfactory quality of life after 3 months. No death occurred within 3 months. Nonoperative death occurred in 8 cases (8/49, 16.3%). The rate of mortality and disability was 18.4% (9/49). In the embolization/stent group, 16 patients (16/20, 80%) survived. Nonoperative death occurred in 4 cases (4/20, 20%), 3 of which occurred within 1 to 3 months. Four cases reported Modified Rankin Scale ≥2 after 3 months. The rate of mortality and disability was 40% (8/20).

CONCLUSION

A comprehensive revascularization strategy for internal carotid artery (ICA) embolization and intracranial and extracranial bypass grafting based on ASITN/SIR score for ICA blowout syndrome patients not only can prolong the patient survival but also greatly improve the survival probability and quality of life as well as reduce their rate of mortality or disability.