• Zhihong Zhong, Hongyang Ni, Jun Zhu, Hong Jiang, Jinqing Hu, Dong Lin, and Liuguan Bian.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
• World Neurosurg. 2021 Aug 1; 152: e688-e699.

ObjectiveAcute hemorrhage caused by cerebral arteriovenous malformation (cAVM) during pregnancy is uncommon but life-threatening for both mother and fetus and presents a great challenge to clinical management. However, there is still no consensus on the treatment strategy and the treatment timing of acute hemorrhage from cAVM during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to amalgamate reported case series and our cases regarding the clinical management of pregnant patients under this special condition.MethodsWe report a case series of 3 pregnant patients with acute hemorrhage caused by cAVM in our hospital. A systematic PubMed search of the English-language literature published between 1970 and 2020 was carried out. Clinical information including patients' age, gestational age, imaging studies, treatment strategy, treatment timing, delivery mode, and outcomes were collected and analyzed.ResultsThe rebleed rate is about 7.1% and the mortality from rebleeding is up to 25%. Treatment modalities included radical surgery, endovascular embolization, radiosurgery/stereotactic radiosurgery, palliative surgery, and conservative treatment. There were no maternal deaths in either the intrapartum intervention group and the postpartum intervention subgroup of gestational age <34 weeks.ConclusionsA high rebleed rate and high mortality from rebleeding indicate that the intervention of ruptured cAVM should not be delayed. Intervention of ruptured cAVM within 2 weeks after initial hemorrhage is advisable in patients at gestational age <34 weeks, whereas termination of pregnancy as soon as possible followed by timely intervention of ruptured cAVM is practicable in patients at gestational age ≥34 weeks.Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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