Observation versus intervention for Borden type I intracranial dural arteriovenous fistula: A pooled analysis of 469 patients.

Background: While it is thought that Borden Type I intracranial dural arteriovenous fistula (dAVF) have a benign clinical course, their management remains controversial.

Methods: A comparative meta-analysis was completed to evaluate the outcomes of intervention verses observation of Borden Type I intracranial dAVF. Outcome measures included: grade progression, worsening symptoms, death due to dAVF, permanent complications other than death, functional independence (mRS 0-2), and rate of death combined with permanent complication, were evaluated. Risk differences (RD) were determined using a random effects model.

Results: Three comparative studies combined with the authors' institutional experience resulted in a total of 469 patients, with 279 patients who underwent intervention and 190 who were observed. There was no significant difference in dAVF grade progression between the intervention and observation arms, 1.8% vs. 0.7%, respectively (RD: 0.01, 95% CI: -0.02 to 0.04,  = 0.49), or in symptom progression occurring in 31/279 (11.1%) intervention patients and 11/190 (5.8%) observation patients (RD: 0.03, CI: -0.02 to 0.09,  = 0.28). There was also no significant difference in functional independence on follow up. However, there was a significantly higher risk of dAVF related death, permanent complication from either intervention or dAVF related ICH or stroke in the intervention group (11/279, 3.9%) compared to the observation group (0/190, 0%) (RD: 0.04, CI: 0.1 to 0.06,  = 0.007).

Conclusion: Intervention of Borden Type I dAVF results in a higher risk of death or permanent complication, which should be strongly considered when deciding on management of these lesions.