Background: Cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome (HPS) is a potentially life-threatening complication following carotid artery stenting (CAS) and carotid endoarterectomy (CEA). Early prediction and treatment of patients at risk for HPS are required in patients undergoing CAS because HPS occurs significantly earlier after CAS than CEA. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is often used for monitoring, and indocyanine green (ICG) kinetics by NIRS (ICG-NIRS) can detect reductions in cerebral perfusion in patients with acute stroke. However, whether ICG-NIRS can predict postoperative hyperperfusion phenomenon (HP) after carotid revascularization is unclear.
Objective: Here, we evaluated whether the blood flow index (BFI) ratio calculated from a time-intensity curve from ICG-NIRS monitoring can predict HPS after CAS.
Methods: The BFI ratio was prospectively monitored using ICG-NIRS in 135 patients undergoing CAS. Preoperative cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) and the postoperative asymmetry index (AI) were also assessed with single-photon emission computed tomography before and after CAS, and the correlation was evaluated. In addition, patients were divided into two groups, a non-HP group (n = 113) and an HP group (n = 22), and we evaluated the correlation with hemodynamic impairment in the ipsilateral hemisphere and clinical results.
Results: Twenty-two cases (16%) showed HP, and four (3%) showed HPS after CAS. The BFI ratio calculated from ICG-NIRS showed a significant linear correlation with preoperative CVR and postoperative AI (r = -0.568, 0.538, P < 0.001, <0.001, respectively). The degree of stenosis, the rate of no cross flow, preoperative CVR, and the incidence of HPS were significantly different between the groups.
Conclusions: Measurement of ICG kinetics by NIRS is useful for detection of HPS in patients who underwent CAS.