title: Brain CT-scan in acute stroke patients: silent infarcts and relation to outcome.
abstract: Silent infarcts (SIs) are common findings in stroke patients, but their clinical significance remains controversial. Aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of SI in consecutive stroke patients, characteristics, associated factors, and influence on in-hospital mortality. The population consisted of 191 patients, consecutively admitted for an acute stroke. Of 191 patients, 74 had SI on CT-scan. Silent infarcts were often multiple, right sided, lacunar. We found SI more frequently in older patients, smokers, with an ischemic stroke having small vessel disease as presumed cause. In our study SI were associated with ageing, smoke habit and lacunar stroke. Silent infarcts size influenced the rate of in-hospital mortality.
authors.affiliation: Stroke Unit, Dip Neuroscienze, Univ Perugia, Perugia, Italy. fcorea@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Corea
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tambasco
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Luccioli
authors.forename: Ettore
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ciorba
authors.forename: Lucilla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Parnetti
authors.forename: Virgilio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gallai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D013577:Syndrome; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed