Angioarchitectural Characteristics Associated With the Risk of Hemorrhage in Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations

Objective:The subsequent hemorrhage risk for intracranial arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) has previously been studied according to angiographical findings. We propose to concentrate on the AVMs venous structure. Methods:Between 2004 and 2010, 50 intracranial AVM patients were followed at the Hallym University Medical Center. Angiographic characteristics were retrospectively reviewed, including the number of venous drainage, venous kinking, venous stenosis, venous recruitment, exclusive deep venous drainage, venous reflux, venous obstacles, nidus size, and aneurysms. Results:Cerebral AVMs caused bleeding in 38 patients. Venous recruitment was a valuable protective factor against hemorrhage (odds ratio, 0.165; 95% confidence interval, 0.046-0.586; P=0.0053). Venous kinking, venous stenosis, deep venous drainage, nidus size, venous obstacles, and venous locations did not show meaningful differences in bleeding risk on univariate analysis. Conclusions:In our study, except for venous recruitment, no factor had any significant bleeding difference. We postulate that venous structures may be inconsistent and dependent on individual explanation of angiography characteristics.