Purpose:
The presence of active contrast extravasation following CT angiography (CTA), the spot sign, predicts the development of hematoma expansion and poor clinical outcome in patients with primary intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). The biological underpinnings of the spot sign remain poorly understood, and there are no established risk factors for its presence. We conducted a prospective cohort study to identify determinants of the CTA spot sign.
Materials and Methods:
We performed a prospective cohort study of consecutive patients presenting to a single center with primary ICH over an 11-year period. Patients were included in this analysis if they underwent CT and CTA at presentation and consented to participation in genetic studies. CTAs were reviewed by two experienced readers, blinded to clinical data, according to previously published validated criteria. Due to its established association with lobar ICH volume, APOE genotype, as well as common clinical covariates, were analyzed for association with spot sign presence. Analyses were stratified by deep, lobar and probable / definite cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) related ICH (by Boston criteria).
Results:
Of 372 patients, 151 had deep, 198 had lobar and 23 had mixed ICH. We identified at least 1 spot sign in 96 of 372 patients (25.8%). In multivariate analysis, patients on warfarin were more likely to have a spot sign regardless of ICH location: OR 3.85 (95% CI 1.33-11.13, p-value 0.013) in deep ICH, OR 2.86 (95% CI 1.33-6.13, p-value 0.007) in lobar ICH and OR 6.65 (95% CI 1.34-32.99, p-value 0.020) in the subset meeting criteria for CAA-related ICH. APOE ε2, but not ε4, was associated with spot sign in lobar ICH (OR 2.09 [95% CI 1.05-4.19], p = 0.036) and CAA-related ICH (OR 2.07 [95% CI 1.24-3.46], p-value 0.005). There was no effect for ε2 or ε4 in deep ICH. (
Table 1
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Conclusion:
Patients on warfarin at the time of ICH are more likely to have a spot sign at presentation, regardless of the location of the ICH. Among patients with lobar ICH, those who possess the APOE ε2 allele are more likely to have a spot sign. Given the established relationship between APOE ε2 and vasculopathic changes in CAA, our findings suggest that both hemostatic factors and vessel pathology influence spot sign presence and risk of prolonged bleeding in ICH.