Dural arteriovenous fistula research and management in China (DREAM-INI): initial characterization and patient cohort outcomes
Xin Su, Yongjie Ma, Zihao Song, Huiwei Liu, Chao Zhang, Huishen Pang, Yiguang Chen, Beichuan Zhao, Mingyue Huang, Liyong Sun, Peng Hu, Guilin Li, Tao Hong, Ming Ye, Hongqi Zhang, Peng Zhang
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Intracranial dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) are rare lesions, making it challenging to fully understand and improve their management. Globally, only two major large-scale studies have focused on DAVFs. This report outlines the design of the DREAM-INI (Dural arteriovenous fistula research and management in China) project and provides an overview of the 1101-patient cohort it includes. METHODS: Patient data were sourced from the DREAM-INI database, a retrospective, single-center observational study conducted from January 2001 to December 2022, encompassing a total of 1101 DAVF patients. RESULTS: The cohort consists of 367 patients diagnosed with Borden type I DAVFs, 172 patients with Borden type II fistulas, and 562 patients with Borden type III fistulas. 565 patients exhibited flow-related symptoms, 176 patients presented with intracranial hemorrhage, and 275 patients had non-hemorrhagic neurological deficits. A large proportion of patients (95.6%, 1053/1101) underwent treatment through endovascular embolization (83.7%, 922/1101), surgery (8.7%, 96/1101), or multimodal therapy (3.2%, 35/1101). The overall immediate angiographic cure rate was 85.2% (897/1053 treated cases), and the rate of treatment-related permanent neurological morbidity was 3.4% (45/1328 total procedures). The median duration from the final treatment to the last follow-up for DAVF was 39 months. The predictive factors for aggressive symptoms, initial angiographic cure, and complications in DAVFs have also been preliminarily explored. CONCLUSIONS: With over 1100 patients, DREAM-INI represents a large and relatively well-documented registry of DAVF patient data in China and even globally. This database will enable numerous future studies, further advancing our understanding of this rare disease.