Abstract 3268: Ct Perfusion As A Tool To Predict The Risk Of Hemorrhagic Transformation In Ischemic Stroke Treated With Tissue Plasminogen Activator: A Single Center Experience.
Objective: To use the Computed Tomography Perfusion (CTP) parameters at the time of hospital admission, including Cerebral Blood Volume (CBV) and Permeability Surface area product (PS), to identify patients with higher risk to develop hemorrhagic transformation in the setting of acute stroke therapy with intravenous thrombolysis. Methods: Retrospective study that compared admission CTP variables between patients with Hemorrhagic Transformation (HT) acute stroke and those with no hemorrhagic transformation. Both groups received standard of care intravenous thrombolysis with tPA. Twenty patients presented to our stroke center between the years 2007 - 2011 within 3 hours after stroke symptoms onset. All patients underwent two-phase 320 slice CTP which creates CBV and PS measurements. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether or not they had HT on a follow up CT head without contrast, done within 36 hours of the thrombolysis therapy. Clinical, demographic and CTP variables were compared between the HT and non-HT groups using logistic regression analyses. Results: HT developed in 8 (40%) patients. Patients with HT had lower ASPECT score ( P =.03), higher NIHSS on admission ( P= .01) and worse outcome ( P= .04) compared to patients who did not develop HT. Baseline blood flow defects were comparable between the two groups. The mean PS for the HT group was 0.53 mL/min/100g brain tissue, which was significantly higher than that for the non-HT group of 0.04 mL/min/100g brain tissue ( P <.0001). The mean area under the curve was 0.92 (95% CI). The PS threshold of 0.26 mL/min/100g brain tissue had a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 92% for detecting patients with high risk of hemorrhagic transformation after intravenous thrombolysis. Conclusions: Admission CTP measurements might be useful to predict patients who are at higher risk to develop hemorrhagic transformation after acute ischemic stroke therapy.