1995 Volume 4 Issue 2 Pages 189-192
Analysed herein are data with regard to 80 cases of nontraumatic intracranial arterial dissections collected from 32 hospitals in Japan for the year of 1992. These cases were compared with the data of 188 Japanese cases previously reported in literature and no significant differences were found between the two groups. The profile of a nontraumatic intracranial arterial dissection in Japan has been found to be as enumerated below. 1. Age: The mean age was 48 years, with a highest incidence peak occurring in subjects in their 40s. Patients with a carotid lesion were younger and patients with a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) were older. 2. Gender: Males dominated. The male/female ratio was 2.3 : 1. 3. Location: Ninety percent of the lesions had a vertebrobasilar (VB) distribution. 4. Clinical picture: In 60% of these cases, the SAH was the major event. Among the VB lesions, SAH was more common. 5. Angiography: The most common finding was the pearl and string sign. 6. Operation: In approximately 60% of the cases, the most common surgical procedure used was a proximal ligation of the parent artery. 7. Outcome: Seventy-six percent of the cases had a good recovery. The mortality rate was 16%.
