AUTHOR=Senthilvelan Santhakumar , Kannath Santhosh Kumar , Arun Karumattu Manattu , Menon Ramshekhar , Kesavadas Chandrasekharan TITLE=Non-invasive assessment of cerebral hemoglobin parameters in intracranial dural arteriovenous fistula using functional near-infrared spectroscopy—A feasibility study JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroscience VOLUME=Volume 16 - 2022 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2022.932995 DOI=10.3389/fnins.2022.932995 ISSN=1662-453X ABSTRACT=Purpose

The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of non-invasive assessment of cerebral hemodynamics using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in patients with intracranial dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) and to correlate the hemodynamic changes with definitive endovascular treatment.

Methodology

Twenty-seven DAVF patients and 23 healthy controls underwent 20-mins task-based functional near-infrared spectroscopy and neuropsychology evaluation. The mean change in the hemoglobin concentrations obtained from the prefrontal cortex was assessed for oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin, and oxygen saturation (HbO, HbR, and SO2, respectively). The fNIRS data were analyzed and correlated with improvement in neuropsychology scores at 1-month follow-up.

Results

There was a significant reduction in HbO in the patient group, while it increased in controls (−2.57E−05 vs. 1.09E−04 mM, p < 0.001). The reduced HbO significantly improved after embolization (−2.1E−04 vs. 9.9E−04, p = 0.05, q = 0.05). In patients with aggressive DAVF (Cognard 2B and above), the change was highly significant (p < 0.001; q = 0.001). A moderate correlation was observed between MMSE scores and HbO changes (ρ = 0.4).

Conclusion

fNIRS is a useful non-invasive modality for the assessment of DAVF, and could potentially assist in bedside monitoring of treatment response.