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. 2023 Aug 8:3:1229921.
doi: 10.3389/fradi.2023.1229921. eCollection 2023.

Anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) aneurysms: a radiological study of 15 consecutive patients

Sajjad Muhammad  1   2   3 , Ahmad Hafez  1 , Hanna Kaukovalta  1 , Behnam Rezai Jahromi  1 , Riku Kivisaari  1 , Daniel Hänggi  2   3 , Mika Niemelä  1
Affiliations

Anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) aneurysms: a radiological study of 15 consecutive patients

Sajjad Muhammad et al. Front Radiol. .

Abstract

Introduction: The aneurysms of the anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) are rare lesions of the posterior circulation and to treat them is challenging. We aim to present anatomical and morphological characteristics of AICA aneurysms in a series of 15 patients.

Method: The DSA and CT angiography images of AICA aneurysms in 15 consecutive patients were analyzed retrospectively. Different anatomical characteristics were quantified, including morphology, location, width, neck width, length, bottleneck factor, and aspect ratio.

Results: Eighty percent of the patients were females. The age was 52.4 ± 9.6 (mean ± SD) years. 11 patients were smokers. Ten patients had a saccular aneurysm and five patients had a fusiform aneurysm. Aneurysm in 10 patients were located in the proximal segment, in three patients in the meatal segment, and in two patients in the distal segment. Ten out of 15 patients presented with a ruptured aneurysm. The size of AICA aneurysms was 14.8 ± 18.9 mm (mean ± SD). The aspect ratio was 0.92 ± 0.47 (mean ± SD) and bottleneck factor was 1.66 ± 1.65 (mean ± SD).

Conclusion: AICA aneurysms are rare lesions of posterior circulation predominantly found in females, present predominantly with subarachnoid hemorrhage, and are mostly large in size.

Keywords: AICA aneurysms; CT angiography; characteristics of AICA aneurysms; clinical outcome; radiological features.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) SM and BJ declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Demonstration of a ruptured AICA aneurysms at proximal location (A,B) that was treated surgically through retrosigmoid approach (C). Another patients with ruptured high laying AICA aneurysm (D,E) that was treated through sub-temporal approach (F).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Demonstration of a ruptured AICA aneurysms with intra cerebral hemorrhage (A–C) that was treated through retrosigmoid approach (D–F).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Demonstration of a ruptured AICA aneurysms at meatal loop with intra cerebral hemorrhage (A–C) that was treated through retrosigmoid approach (D–F).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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