Diameter of the basilar artery may be associated with neurological deterioration in acute pontine infarction.
OBJECTIVE
The present study investigated the factors related to neurological deterioration in pontine infarction.


METHODS
Consecutive patients with acute pontine infarction without basilar artery (BA) occlusion were enrolled. Patients were classified into two groups (D, group with neurological deterioration; ND, group without neurological deterioration). After magnetic resonance angiography was performed to identify the diameters of internal carotid artery (ICA) and BA, the BA diameter/ICA diameter (BA/ICA) ratio was calculated. When the ischemic lesion on diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging extended to the ventral basal pial surface, it was diagnosed as branch atheromatous disease (BAD).


RESULTS
Neurological deterioration occurred in 16 (31%) of 51 patients. BAD was found in 13 (81%) of 16 patients of the D group and 14 (40%) of 35 in the ND group (p = 0.008). The BA/ICA ratio was 0.73 (0.59-0.84) in the D group and 0.64 (0.55-0.71) in the ND group (p = 0.049). Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that BAD (OR 15.62, 95% CI 2.37-103.13, p = 0.004) and a BA/ICA ratio of >or=0.70 (OR 7.76, 95% CI 1.55-38.88, p = 0.013) were independent factors associated with neurological deterioration.


CONCLUSIONS
The BA diameter may be associated with neurological deterioration in acute pontine infarction.
Department of Stroke Medicine, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki City, Japan. aojyun @ med.kawasaki-m.ac.jp
Junya
J
Aoki
Yasuyuki
Y
Iguchi
Kazumi
K
Kimura
Kensaku
K
Shibazaki
Takeshi
T
Iwanaga
Kenichiro
K
Sakai
D000368:Aged; D001488:Basilar Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D020520:Brain Infarction / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D009460:Neurologic Examination / Q000379:methods; D011149:Pons / Q000473:pathology*; D011859:Radiography; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric