title: Risk of Symptomatic Intracerebral Hemorrhage After Intravenous Thrombolysis in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke and High Cerebral Microbleed Burden: A Meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) have been established as an independent predictor of cerebral bleeding. There are contradictory data regarding the potential association of CMB burden with the risk of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) treated with intravenous thrombolysis (IVT).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the association of high CMB burden (>10 CMBs on a pre-IVT magnetic image resonance [MRI] scan) with the risk of sICH following IVT for AIS.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eligible studies were identified by searching Medline and Scopus databases. No language or other restrictions were imposed. The literature search was conducted on October 7, 2015. This meta-analysis has adopted the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and was written according to the Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) proposal.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eligible prospective study protocols that reported sICH rates in patients with AIS who underwent MRI for CMB screening prior to IVT.
  
  
  METHODS
  The reported rates of sICH complicating IVT in patients with AIS with pretreatment MRI were extracted independently for groups of patients with 0 CMBs (CMB absence), 1 or more CMBs (CMB presence), 1 to 10 CMBs (low to moderate CMB burden), and more than 10 CMBs (high CMB burden). An individual-patient data meta-analysis was also performed in the included studies that provided complete patient data sets.
  
  
  METHODS
  Symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage based on the European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study-II definition (any intracranial bleed with ≥4 points worsening on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We included 9 studies comprising 2479 patients with AIS. The risk of sICH after IVT was found to be higher in patients with evidence of CMB presence, compared with patients without CMBs (risk ratio [RR], 2.36; 95% CI, 1.21-4.61; P = .01). A higher risk for sICH after IVT was detected in patients with high CMB burden (>10 CMBs) when compared with patients with 0 to 10 CMBs (RR, 12.10; 95% CI, 4.36-33.57; P < .001) or 1 to 10 CMBs (RR, 7.01; 95% CI, 3.20-15.38; P < .001) on pretreatment MRI. In the individual-patient data meta-analysis, high CMB burden was associated with increased likelihood of sICH before (unadjusted odds ratio, 31.06; 95% CI, 7.12-135.44; P < .001) and after (adjusted odds ratio, 18.17; 95% CI, 2.39-138.22; P = .005) adjusting for potential confounders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Presence of CMB and high CMB burdens on pretreatment MRI were independently associated with sICH in patients with AIS treated with IVT. High CMB burden may be included in individual risk stratification scores predicting sICH risk following IVT for AIS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis2Second Department of Neurology, Attikon Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Athens, Greece3International Clinical Research Center, Department of Neurology.
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tsivgoulis
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis.
authors.forename: Ramin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zand
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Neurology, Attikon Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Athens, Greece4Department of Neurology, University of Ioannina School of Medicine, Ioannina, Greece.
authors.forename: Aristeidis H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Katsanos
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hôpital Sainte-Anne, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Inserm UMR S894, Départements Hospitalo-Universitaires Neurovasc, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Turc
authors.affiliation: Klinik und Hochschulambulanz für Neurologie and Center for Stroke Research, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Nolte
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland8Department of Neurology, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: University Lille, Inserm, Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Lille, U1171, Degenerative and Vascular Cognitive Disorders, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cordonnier
authors.affiliation: Klinik und Hochschulambulanz für Neurologie and Center for Stroke Research, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Jochen B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Fiebach
authors.affiliation: Klinik und Hochschulambulanz für Neurologie and Center for Stroke Research, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Scheitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Pascal P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Klinger-Gratz
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Hôpital Sainte-Anne, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Inserm UMR S894, Départements Hospitalo-Universitaires Neurovasc, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Oppenheim
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis.
authors.forename: Nitin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Goyal
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Neurology, Attikon Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Athens, Greece11Acute Stroke Unit, Metropolitan Hospital, Piraeus, Greece.
authors.forename: Apostolos
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Safouris
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Heinrich P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Mattle
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis12Australian Catholic University, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Anne W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Alexandrov
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neurology and Neurogeriatry, Johannes Wesling Medical Center, Minden, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Schellinger
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis.
authors.forename: Andrei V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Alexandrov
mesh_terms: D061605:Administration, Intravenous; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology; D016206:Databases, Bibliographic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents