Baseline and clinical data of brainstem cavernous malformations stratified by neurological outcome
| Variable (%) | Overall, N=698 | Improved (mRS=0), n=334 | Unchanged, n=293 | Worsened, n=71 | P value |
| Female | 321 (46.0) | 154 (46.1) | 132 (45.1) | 35 (49.3) | 0.811† |
| Mean age at enrolment, years | 38.3±13.8 | 36.8±13.3 | 39.5±13.8 | 40.6±15.2 | 0.017*‡ |
| Hypertension | 96 (13.8) | 50 (15.0) | 38 (13.0) | 8 (11.3) | 0.625† |
| Mean duration of symptoms, months | 21.3±44.7 | 16.4±37.9 | 24.5±46.3 | 30.8±62.5 | 0.013*‡ |
| Patients with prior haemorrhage | 680 (97.4) | 322 (96.4) | 288 (98.3) | 70 (98.6) | 0.267† |
| Mean number of prior haemorrhage | 1.4±0.8 | 1.3±0.8 | 1.5±0.9 | 1.6±0.8 | 0.003*‡ |
| Haemorrhage at enrolment | 508 (72.8) | 228 (68.3) | 223 (76.1) | 57 (80.3) | 0.029*† |
| FND at enrolment | 589 (84.4) | 265 (79.3) | 262 (89.4) | 62 (87.3) | 0.002*† |
| Midbrain location | 154 (22.1) | 69 (20.7) | 65 (22.2) | 20 (28.2) | 0.699† |
| Pontine location | 442 (63.3) | 216 (64.7) | 186 (63.5) | 40 (56.3) | |
| Medullary location | 102 (14.6) | 49 (14.7) | 42 (14.3) | 11 (15.5) | |
| Crossing axial midpoint | 174 (24.9) | 70 (21.0) | 71 (24.2) | 33 (46.5) | <0.001*† |
| Developmental venous anomaly | 237 (34.0) | 106 (31.7) | 98 (33.4) | 33 (46.5) | 0.057† |
| Perilesional oedema | 342 (49.0) | 172 (51.5) | 132 (45.1) | 38 (53.5) | 0.198† |
| Zabramski type I | 190 (27.2) | 97 (29.0) | 70 (23.9) | 23 (32.4) | 0.010*† |
| Zabramski type II | 326 (46.7) | 135 (40.4) | 156 (53.2) | 35 (49.3) | |
| Zabramski type III/IV | 182 (26.1) | 102 (30.5) | 67 (22.9) | 13 (18.3) | |
| Mean lesion size, cm¶ | 1.5±0.7 | 1.4±0.6 | 1.6±0.6 | 1.9±0.7 | <0.001*‡ |
| Size >1.5 cm | 299 (42.8) | 116 (34.7) | 135 (46.1) | 48 (67.6) | <0.001*† |
| Superficial-seated | 395 (56.6) | 173 (51.8) | 171 (58.4) | 51 (71.8) | 0.003*† |
| Moderate-seated | 208 (29.8) | 102 (30.5) | 93 (31.7) | 13 (18.3) | |
| Deep-seated | 95 (13.6) | 59 (17.7) | 29 (9.9) | 7 (9.9) | |
| mRS score at enrolment | 0.363§ | ||||
| 0 | 47 (6.7) | 41 (12.3) | 0 | 6 (8.5) | |
| 1 | 400 (57.3) | 153 (45.8) | 210 (71.7) | 37 (52.1) | |
| 2 | 104 (14.9) | 52 (15.6) | 38 (13.0) | 14 (19.7) | |
| 3 | 66 (9.5) | 39 (11.7) | 17 (5.8) | 10 (14.1) | |
| 4 | 68 (9.7) | 38 (11.4) | 26 (8.9) | 4 (5.6) | |
| 5 | 13 (1.9) | 11 (3.3) | 2 (0.7) | 0 | |
| mRS score at censored | <0.001*§ | ||||
| 0 | 233 (33.4) | 233 (69.8) | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 283 (40.5) | 70 (21.0) | 210 (71.7) | 3 (4.2) | |
| 2 | 71 (10.2) | 17 (5.1) | 38 (13.0) | 16 (22.5) | |
| 3 | 44 (6.3) | 10 (3.0) | 17 (5.8) | 17 (23.9) | |
| 4 | 49 (7.0) | 4 (1.2) | 26 (8.9) | 19 (26.8) | |
| 5 | 6 (0.9) | 0 | 2 (0.7) | 4 (5.6) | |
| 6 | 12 (1.7) | 0 | 0 | 12 (16.9) | |
| Mean follow-up duration, months | 56.9±35.3 | 69.0±28.5 | 49.8±37.6 | 29.4±31.3 | <0.001*‡ |
| Haemorrhage-free survival time, months | 48.7±36.0 | 61.4±32.2 | 41.9±36.6 | 17.0±21.0 | <0.001*‡ |
| Patients with prospective bleeding | 167 (23.9) | 48 (14.4) | 56 (19.1) | 63 (88.7) | <0.001*† |
| Mean number of prospective bleeding | 0.3±0.7 | 0.2±0.5 | 0.3±0.6 | 1.2±0.8 | <0.001*‡ |
| Patients under observation | 514 (73.6) | 301 (90.1) | 188 (64.2) | 25 (35.2) | <0.001*† |
| Patients receiving radiosurgery | 14 (2.0) | 5 (1.5) | 7 (2.4) | 2 (2.8) | |
| Patients receiving surgery | 170 (24.4) | 28 (8.4) | 98 (33.4) | 44 (62.0) |
Means are given with SD.
Bold indicates statistical significance.
*P<0.05.
†χ2 test.
‡One-way analysis of variance.
§Kruskal-Wallis test.
¶Lesion size was expressed as the lesion equivalent diameter (abc)1/3, where a, b and c represent the maximal diameters (length, width and height) measured on axial, sagittal and coronal MRI scans.
FND, focal neurological deficit; mRS, modified Rankin Scale.