title: Severe carotid artery stenosis evaluated by ultrasound is associated with post stroke vascular cognitive impairment.
abstract: Acute ischemic stroke has been recognized as one key cause of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between carotid artery stenosis and post VCI in acute ischemic stroke patients.
  
  
  
  In this study, B-mode ultrasound was applied to measure the degree of carotid artery stenosis. After 1 year, the stroke patients' cognitive function was assessed by the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score. The relationship between the VCI and degree of carotid artery stenosis was evaluated by multivariate regression analysis.
  
  
  
  VCI was observed in 136 (37.2%) of the 365 participants. High degree of carotid artery stenosis was significantly correlated with VCI (p< .01), and this correlation remained unchanged even adjustment for age, gender, education level, stroke features, and vascular risk factors.
  
  
  
  These findings indicate that high-grade stenosis of carotid artery is positively correlated with post stroke VCI in patients with acute ischemic stroke. The evaluation of 1 year post stroke cognitive function may be a potential tool for screening stroke patients at risk of VCI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasonography Jining No.1 People's Hospital Jining Shandong China.
authors.forename: Xuefeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasonography Jining No.1 People's Hospital Jining Shandong China.
authors.forename: Xiangling
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Health Supervision Institute Zoucheng Municipal Health Bureau Zoucheng Shandong China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasonography Jining No.1 People's Hospital Jining Shandong China.
authors.forename: Xiangqin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology Jining No.1 People's Hospital Jining Shandong China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasonography Jining No.1 People's Hospital Jining Shandong China.
authors.forename: Dongmei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kong
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016893:Carotid Stenosis / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014463:Ultrasonography
keywords: carotid artery stenosis; mini‐mental state examination score; stroke; ultrasound; vascular cognitive impairment