Clinical and angiographic characteristics at onset
| All Children | Children with Recurrent Episodes | Children with Single Episode | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 28) | (n = 12) (43) | (n = 16) (57) | ||
| Mean age (yr) | 9.9 ± 5.2 | 10.1 ± 5.1 | 9.7 ± 5.4 | NS |
| Male/female | 14:14 | 8:4 | 6:10 | NS |
| Mean follow-up (yr) | 5.7 ± 4.4 | 5.9 ± 3.2 | 5.6 ± 5.3 | NS |
| Clinical evaluation | ||||
| Back pain | 18 (64) | 7 (58) | 11 (69) | NS |
| Tetraplegia | 7 (25) | 5 (42) | 2 (13) | NS |
| Paraplegia | 3 (11) | 1 (33) | 2 (13) | NS |
| Sensory deficit | 19 (68) | 10 (83) | 9 (56) | NS |
| Respiratory distress | 4 (15) | 3 (25) | 1 (7) | NS |
| Sphincter dysfunction | 18 (64) | 9 (75) | 9 (56) | NS |
| Severe ASIA score at onset (<D) | 20 (71) | 7 (58) | 13 (81) | NS |
| Severe ASIA score at last follow-up | 11 (39) | 7 (58) | 4 (25) | NS |
| MRI characteristics at onset (n = 22) | ||||
| Size of lesions >3 vertebrae (n = 20) | 14 (70) | 4 (57) | 10 (77) | NS |
| T1 hyposignal (n = 15) | 6 (40) | 3 (43) | 3 (38) | NS |
| Angiographic evaluation at onset | ||||
| Macroarchitecture | ||||
| Fistula | 7 (25) | 2 (17) | 5 (31) | NS |
| Nidus | 21 (75) | 10 (83) | 11 (69) | NS |
| Site | ||||
| Cervical | 16 (57) | 8 (67) | 8 (50) | NS |
| Upper thoracic (T1–T7) | 7 (25) | 4 (33) | 3 (19) | NS |
| Lower thoracic (T8–conus) | 5 (18) | 0 | 5 (31) | .01 |
| Cervical and upper thoracic | 23 (82) | 12 (100) | 11 (69) | .01 |
| Microarchitecture | ||||
| Perimedullary venous drainage | 27 (96) | 12 (100) | 15 (94) | NS |
| Radiculomedullary arterial feeder | 20 (71) | 11 (92) | 9 (56) | .03 |
| Anterior spinal vein drainage | 9 (33) | 5 (42) | 4 (27) | NS |
| No. of arterial feeders >3 (n = 26) | 15 (58) | 8 (73) | 7 (47) | NS |
| Draining vein stenosis ≥50% (n = 26) | 3 (12) | 1/11 (9) | 2/15 (13) | NS |
| Pseudoaneurysm (n = 23) | 9 (39) | 4/9 (44) | 5/14 (36) | 1 |
| Intranidal or draining vein ectasia (n = 24) | 14 (58) | 9/10 (90) | 5/14 (36) | 0.03 |
| Radicular vein drainage | 23 (82) | 9 (75) | 14 (88) | NS |
| Treatment | ||||
| Angiographic cure (n = 27) | 5 (19) | 0/12 | 5/15 (33) | 0.01 |
| Surgical decompression | 6 (21) | 2 (17) | 4 (25) | 0.6 |
Note:—NS indicates not significant.