Abstract

Introduction: Pediatric intracranial aneurysms are considerably rarer than those in adults and differ significantly in terms of clinical, radiological, and anatomical characteristics. Congenital and acquired factors are known to play an important role in the etiology of aneurysms in childhood. This study aims to evaluate the demographic features, clinical findings, treatment methods, and outcomes of pediatric intracranial aneurysm cases treated in our institution.

Materials and Methods: Pediatric patients aged 0–18 years who were diagnosed and treated for intracranial aneurysms at our clinic between January 2010 and December 2024 were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: A total of 9 pediatric patients were treated for intracranial aneurysms during the study period. The mean age was 10.6 years; six patients were male and three were female. The most common presenting symptoms were headache (55%) and nausea/vomiting (55%). At admission, three patients were classified as WFNS Grade V and four as WFNS Grade I. Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) was observed in seven patients (77.8%). Eight aneurysms were located in the anterior circulation and one in the posterior circulation. The most frequently affected vascular segments were the internal carotid artery and the middle cerebral artery bifurcations. Endovascular coiling was performed in eight patients (88.9%), while surgical clipping was applied in one patient (11.1%). Six patients were discharged with full recovery, one patient was discharged with a neurological deficit due to an intraparenchymal hematoma, and two patients died during intensive care follow-up. During the postoperative period, one patient underwent decompressive craniectomy and another required external ventricular drainage (EVD) due to hydrocephalus.

Conclusion: Pediatric intracranial aneurysms exhibit distinct clinical and radiological features compared to adults. The incidence of subarachnoid hemorrhage is relatively high and predominantly involves the anterior circulation. Although endovascular coiling appears to be more frequently preferred over surgical clipping, treatment strategies should be tailored based on patient-specific factors.

Keywords: pediatric intracranial aneurysms, subarachnoid hemorrhage, endovascular treatment

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Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

How to cite

1.
Dölen D, Gülsever Cİ, Uysal İY, Poyraz A, Örnek V, Öztürk S, et al. Pediatric intracranial aneurysms: A single-center retrospective analysis. Sinir Sistemi Cerrahisi Derg 2025;Early View:1-9. https://doi.org/10.54306/SSCD.2025.213