Risk of Cerebral Angiography in Patients With Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, Cerebral Aneurysm, and Arteriovenous Malformation

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: A well-defined complication rate of cerebral angiography in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), cerebral aneurysm, and arteriovenous malformation (AVM) would be useful to physicians making decisions regarding the imaging of these patients. We sought to define a statistically significant complication rate through meta-analysis of prospective studies in the literature. METHODS: Meta-analysis of 3 published prospective studies of complications in cerebral angiography was performed to specifically define the risk of cerebral angiography in patients presenting with SAH, cerebral aneurysm, and AVM. The complication rates for cerebral angiography in patients with SAH and AVM/aneurysm without SAH were compared with the complication rates in patients who underwent cerebral angiography for transient ischemic attack (TIA)/ischemic stroke with use of the Fisher exact test. RESULTS: The combined risk of permanent and transient neurological complication was significantly lower in patients with SAH compared with patients with TIA/stroke (1.8% versus 3.7%; P=0.03). The combined risk of permanent and transient neurological complication was significantly lower in patients with aneurysm/AVM without SAH compared with patients with TIA/stroke (0.3% versus 3.7%; P=0.001). When the patients with SAH and cerebral aneurysm/AVM were combined, the overall risk of permanent and transient neurological complication was significantly lower than for the TIA/stroke patients (0.8% versus 3.0%; P=0.001), as was the risk of permanent neurological complication (0.07% versus 0.7%; P=0.004). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of permanent neurological complication associated with cerebral angiography in patients with SAH, cerebral aneurysm, and AVM is quite low (0.07%). This risk is lower than previously recognized.