Carotid plaques and neurological impairment in patients with acute cerebral infarction.

Weijun Zhou,Wei Zhou,Tongtian Ni,Yi Fu,Jianwei Shao,Erzhen Chen,Enqiang Mao,Min Chen,Rayaz A Malik

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0226961

Abstract

ObjectiveTo determine whether the coexistence of carotid atherosclerosis plaque affects the neurological function of cerebral infarction.MethodsA total of 1078 patients with acute cerebral infarction were enrolled, all patients were divided into carotid plaque group (n = 702) and non-carotid plaque group (n = 376). Meanwhile, all patients were divided into mild group (n = 624) and moderate to severe group (n = 454). The difference of the incidence of carotid plaque between the mild and moderate to severe group was analyzed.ResultsIn the 1078 patients with cerebral infarction, the NIHSS score in the carotid plaque group was significantly higher than that in the non-carotid plaque group (P<0.05). The number of mild cases without carotid artery plaque group was larger than that of plaque group (P<0.05), and the number of moderate to severe cases in carotid plaque group was larger than that in non-plaque group (P<0.05). In patients with carotid atherosclerotic plaque, the risk of moderate to severe cerebral infarction was 2.11 times higher than that without carotid artery plaque. Lastly, patients with single plaques were 1.82 times more likely to develop moderate to severe cerebral infarction than those without carotid plaque, while patients with multiple carotid plaques were 2.41 times higher to get moderate or severe cerebral infarction than those without carotid plaque.ConclusionsThe incidence of carotid atherosclerotic plaques may be related to neurological deficits in patients with acute cerebral infarction.

Highlights

Stroke, with high morbidity, mortality and disability rates, is one of the leading causes of death in the world [1,2,3]
Patients with single plaques were 1.82 times more likely to develop moderate to severe cerebral infarction than those without carotid plaque, while patients with multiple carotid plaques were 2.41 times higher to get moderate or severe cerebral infarction than those without carotid plaque
The incidence of carotid atherosclerotic plaques may be related to neurological deficits in patients with acute cerebral infarction

Summary

Introduction

With high morbidity, mortality and disability rates, is one of the leading causes of death in the world [1,2,3]. It is of utmost importance to select patients with high risk of negative outcomes and to address them through a more intensive pharmacological and rehabilitative approach[6]. Research has demonstrated that atherosclerotic plaque may play a role in risk of cerebrovascular accidents [10,12,13,14,15]. The severity of carotid stenosis caused by carotid atherosclerotic plaque has been widely used as an imaging indicator of stroke risk, and is a key indicator of atherosclerotic disease treatment [22,23,24]. Up to now, few studies have been published on the correlation between carotid atherosclerotic plaques and the neurological function of cerebral infarction and the clinical implications of this coexistence

Methods

Results

Conclusion