title: Reliability of the ABC/2 method in determining acute infarct volume.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Infarct volume is used as a surrogate outcome measure in clinical trials of therapies for acute ischemic stroke. ABC/2 is a fast volumetric method, but its accuracy remains to be determined. We aimed to study the accuracy and reproducibility of ABC/2 in determining acute infarct volume with diffusion-weighted imaging.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 86 consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke. Three blinded observers determined volume with the ABC/2 method, and the results were compared with those of the manual planimetric method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The ABC/2 technique overestimated infarct volume by a median false increase (variable ABC/2 volume minus planimetric volume) of 7.33 cm(3) (1.29, 22.170, representing a 162.56% increase over the value of the gold standard (variable ABC/2 volume over planimetric volume) (121.70, 248.52). In each method, the interrater reliability was excellent: the intraclass correlations were .992 and .985 for the ABC/2 technique and planimetric method, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ABC/2 is volumetric method with clinical value but it consistently overestimates the real infarct volume.
authors: Department of Radiology (IDI), Girona Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBGI), Hospital Universitari de Girona Dr Josep Trueta, Universitat de Girona, Girona, Spain. sapedraza@gmail.com
authors: Salvador
authors: S
authors: Pedraza
authors: Josep
authors: J
authors: Puig
authors: Gerard
authors: G
authors: Blasco
authors: Josep
authors: J
authors: Daunis-I-Estadella
authors: Imma
authors: I
authors: Boada
authors: Anton
authors: A
authors: Bardera
authors: Mar
authors: M
authors: Castellanos
authors: Joaquín
authors: J
authors: Serena
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000473:pathology*; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020521:Stroke / Q000473:pathology*