title: Assessing the outcome of stroke: a comparison between MRI and clinical stroke scales.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the correlation of diffusion-weighted (DWI) and perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI) findings with the severity of acute neurologic deficit and their ability to predict short and long-term clinical outcomes of stroke. The ability of DWI and PWI to predict the outcome was compared with the ability of clinical stroke scales to predict the outcome.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-eight patients with acute stroke underwent diffusion DWI and PWI on the first and eighth day after the ictus. Clinical and functional scales were carried out before each scan and 3 months after the stroke.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The volumes of both the DWI and the PWI lesions correlated well with the acute neurologic deficit and the final outcome. The first day PWI (r = 0.64) and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores (r = 0.70) correlated well with the final outcome. However, in logistic regression analysis, only the NIHSS score at the acute stage was the only independent predictor of the long-term clinical outcome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While the PWI and DWI lesion volumes correlated well with the outcome of the stroke, the imaging measurements did not improve the prognostic power over plain clinical stroke scale scores.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nuutinen
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Laakso
authors.forename: J O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Karonen
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roivainen
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Vanninen
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Partanen
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Østergaard
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sivenius
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Aronen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020521:Stroke / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome