Background:
Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) detects acute ischemia with a high sensitivity. In research centers, qualitative CT perfusion (CTP) mapping correlates well with DWI and may accurately differentiate the infarct core from ischemic penumbra. The value of the CTP in real-world clinical practice, however, has not been fully established. We investigated the yield of CTP - derived cerebral blood volume (CBV) and mean transient time (MTT) for the detection of cerebral ischemia in a sample of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients.
Methods:
In a large metropolitan academic medical center that is a certified Primary Stroke Center (PSC) we retrospectively studied 162 patients who presented between January 2008 and July 2010 with symptoms suggestive of AIS. All patients had an initial Code Brain protocol including non-contrast head CT, CTP, and CTA. As clinically indicated, some patients underwent follow up brain MRI within 48 hours. Acute perfusion maps were derived in real time by a trained operator. From the obtained images CBV, MTT and DWI lesion volumes were manually traced using planimetry (ImageJ v1.42) by two stroke neurologists blinded to clinical information. Volumes were calculated using the Cavaleri theorem. Sensitivity, specificity and statistical analysis were calculated using Graph Pad 5.0.
Results:
Of 162 patients with acute stroke-like symptoms, 73 had DWI lesions. The sensitivity and specificity to detect abnormal DWI signals were 23% and 100%, for CBV; and 43.8% and 98.9% for MTT. For DWI lesions ≥5ml the yield was 59.3% for CVB and 77.8% for MTT. For lesions ≥10ml the yield was 68.4% for CBV and 89.5% for MTT. In patients with NIHSS ≥5, CBV predicted abnormal DWI in 22.6% and MTT in 35.5%. In patients with NIHSS ≥10, CBV and MTT, both had a yield of 50.0%. A CBV - MTT mismatch of >25% predicted MRI lesion extension in 81.25% of the cases. There were small but significant correlations for DWI versus CBV lesion volumes (
r
2
0.32,
P=
0.0001), and for DWI versus MTT lesion volumes (
r
2
0.29,
P
<0.0001). Correlation between DWI and perfusion maps for MCA territory infarcts were CBV (
r
2
0.3,
P
<0.0001) and MTT (
r
2
0.45,
P
<0.0001).
Conclusions:
In real-world deployment during a Code Brain protocol in a busy PSC, acute imaging with CTP did not predict DWI lesions on brain MRI with sufficient accuracy. In patients with large lesions the predictive value was better.
Machine Learning-Based Three-Month Outcome Prediction in Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Single Cerebrovascular-Specialty Hospital Study in South Korea
