Introduction:
Identification of patients likely to develop midline shift (MLS) after large-vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke is essential for appropriate triage and patient disposition. Studies have identified clinical and radiographic predictors of MLS, but with limited accuracy. Using an innovative assessment of cerebral autoregulation, we sought to develop an accurate predictive model for MLS.
Methods:
We prospectively enrolled 73 patients with LVO stroke. Beat-by-beat cerebral blood flow (transcranial Doppler) and arterial pressure (arterial catheter or finger photoplethysmography) were recorded within 24 hours of the stroke, and a 24-hour brain MRI was obtained to determine infarct volume and MLS. Autoregulatory function was quantified from pressure-flow relation via projection pursuit regression (PPR), allowing for characterization of 5 hemodynamic markers (Figure 1A). We assessed the predictive relation of autoregulatory capacity and radiological and clinical variables to MLS using recursive classification tree models.
Results:
PPR successfully quantified autoregulatory function in 50/73 (68.5%) patients within 24 hours of LVO ischemic stroke (age 63.9±13.6, 66% F, NIHSS 15.8±6.7). Of these 50 patients, most (78%) underwent endovascular therapy. Thirteen (26%) experienced 24-h MLS; in these patients, infarct volumes were larger (140.2 vs. 48.6 mL,
P<0.001
), and ipsilateral (but not contralateral) falling slopes were steeper (1.1 vs. 0.7 cm·s
-1
·mmHg
-1
,
P=0.001
). Among all clinical, demographic, and hemodynamic variables, only two (infarct volume, ipsilateral falling slope) significantly contributed to prediction of MLS (accuracy 94%; Figure 1B).
Conclusions:
This predictive model of MLS wields translatable potential for triaging level of care in patients suffering from LVO ischemic stroke, but further research, including optimization of the PPR algorithm as well as prospective use of the predictive model, is needed.
Discussion: Projection Pursuit
