EVALUATION OF EARLY ISCHEMIC CHANGES IN STROKE PATIENTS TREATED WITH THROMBOLYTIC THERAPY

Abstract

Introduction:The aim of this study is to evaluate early brain ischemic changes on CT scan in stroke patients in correlation with the clinical outcome, as well as to evaluate if there is prognostic and predictive features that can be used. Patients and methods: We examined 20 patients with acute ischemic stroke, from which 12 were male and 8 were female, at the age from 47 to 76 years. Results: The hyperdense medial artery (HMA) sign was present in 10 (50%) patients. Concerning the ASPECTS score, 5 patients (25%) had normal score of 10 points, while 7 patients (35%) had score of 7 points. 12 patients (60%) had unfavorable outcome, while 8 patients (40%) had favorable outcome. Our statistical analysis shows that age of more than 65 years, presence of 2 or more risk-factors, ASPECTS score of 7 and presence of HMA sign were all statistically significant predictors of unfavorable outcome in examined patients (p<0.05 each). The presence of the hyperdense medial artery sign was the most significant single predictor for unfavorable clinical outcome (p=0.0042, p<0.05). Conclusion:The presence of HMA sign is the most significant single predictor for unfavorable clinical outcome.

Keywords

• stroke
• hyperdense medial artery sign
• outcome
• thrombolysis