Safety and Efficacy of Flow Diverter Treatment for Blood Blister-Like Aneurysm: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: To clarify the safety and efficacy of flow diverter (FD) treatment for blood blister-like aneurysm (BBA) through a systematic review and literature analyzing perioperative and long-term clinical and angiographic outcomes.

Methods: We performed a comprehensive review of the current literature for studies with >2 patients related to FD treatment of BBAs published. A random-effects meta-analysis was used to pool the following outcomes: complete occlusion, technical success, aneurysm recurrence, rebleeding, perioperative mortality, perioperative stroke, procedure-related morbidity and mortality, long-term neurological morbidity and mortality, and overall good neurologic outcome.

Results: We included 15 noncomparative studies with a total of 165 target BBAs. Complete occlusion rates were 72% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59-0.85). Recurrence occurred in 13% (95% CI, 0.04-0.29) and rebleeding in 3% (95% CI, -0.02 to 0.07) of patients. Procedure-related morbidity and mortality were 26% (95% CI, 0.19-0.33) and 3% (95% CI, -0.01 to 0.07), respectively. The rate of long-term good outcomes was 83% (95% CI, 0.77-0.89). Subgroup analysis indicated that a single FD strategy for BBA seemed to have a higher rate of good outcomes compared with an overlapped FD strategy (89.9% vs. 61.9%; odds ratio, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.25-14.98, P = 0.02). Complete occlusion rate and procedure-related morbidity rate did not see any significant difference between these 2 strategies.

Conclusions: Our meta-analysis suggests that in selected cases, FD can be safe and effective. A single FD strategy may result in a higher rate of good outcomes compared with an overlapped FD strategy. Ultimately, treatment of BBA should be considered on a case-by-case basis to maximize patient benefits and limit the risk of perioperative complications.