Accuracy of two scores in the diagnosis of stroke subtype in a multicenter cohort study.
OBJECTIVE
The distinction between hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke has critical implications for management. For that purpose, clinical scores have been proposed to be used in areas with limited health care resources where brain computed tomographic (CT) scan is not readily available. We conducted this study to evaluate the predictive value of the Allen and Siriraj scores in the differential diagnosis of stroke subtypes.


METHODS
We prospectively collected data for 4 years on the clinical characteristics of patients with stroke in a multicenter study. For all patients, we calculated the Allen and the Siriraj scores and we assessed their accuracy in predicting stroke subtypes with receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves.


RESULTS
We assessed 1,023 patients. Of these, 82.7% (n=846) had ischemic stroke. The area under the ROC curve was higher for Siriraj score compared with the Allen score (0.780 versus 0.702; P=.04). Using the original cutoff points, Siriraj score has a sensitivity for the diagnosis of hemorrhage of 60% and a specificity of 95%; the corresponding values for the Allen score are 55% and 70%, respectively. The negative predictive value was higher for Siriraj score compared to the Allen score (90% versus 80%). The diagnosis of stroke subtype was best predicted at Siriraj score less than -4.


CONCLUSIONS
Siriraj score is a valid and useful tool for predicting stroke subtype in a clinical setting in which financial constraints make systematic brain CT scan unfeasible.
Nouira
Semir
S
Emergency Department and Research Unit 04/UR/08-20, Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital, Monasitr, Tunisia. semir.nouira@rns.tn
Boukef
Riadh
R
Bouida
Wahid
W
Marghli
Soudani
S
Dridi
Zohra
Z
Benamou
Soufiène
S
Frih
Mahbouba
M
Gamra
Habib
H
D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020300:Intracranial Hemorrhages / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis*