Relationship between cerebral hypoxic tissue volume and prognosis after stroke.
OBJECTIVE
Between 50 and 70% of stroke survivors suffer from severe disabilities such as paralysis and aphasia. Poor stroke outcome is a reflection of our incomplete understanding of the underlying mechanisms, and hence the capacity to implement appropriate treatment(s). We evaluated hypoxic tissue after stroke and patient condition severity and prognosis.


METHODS
Hypoxic tissue volume was quantified within 14 days after stroke. Patients were classified as hypoxic positive or negative. Patients were evaluated at imaging and 21 days later. Prognosis was assessed at 30 and 90 days.


RESULTS
Significant improvement was shown in hypoxia-positive (vs. hypoxia-negative) patients (p < 0.05). There were significant positive relationships between the volume of hypoxic tissue and the improvement in specialized test scores at 90 days (p < 0.05 for both). Presence of hypoxic tissue within 14 days after cerebral stroke was related to recovery at 3 weeks and prognosis at 90 days.


CONCLUSIONS
The assessment of hypoxic tissue volume after stroke may be useful in predicting patient recovery.
Wang
Yi-Dong
YD
Department of Neurology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China. wydys@yahoo.com.cn
Li
Xiang-Pen
XP
Li
Mei
M
Liu
Sheng
S
Lu
Xian-Ping
XP
Peng
Ying
Y
Huang
Ru-Xun
RX
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D020520:Brain Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D054022:Cerebrum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002534:Hypoxia, Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011379:Prognosis; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D013997:Time Factors; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed