CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc Scores Can Guide the Evaluation of Cryptogenic Ischemic Stroke.

Abstract

Cryptogenic ischemic strokes (CIS) are treated with antiplatelets for stroke prevention in routine clinical practice. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores may be used to identify the patients with CIS at higher risk of ischemic stroke despite antiplatelet therapy. We calculated CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores in patients with first ever CIS; those previously managed with antiplatelets (AP group) and in those without antiplatelets (non-AP group), using the prospectively recorded data of the Istanbul Medical School Stroke Registry from 1996-2014. Of the 4466 IS patients, 886 patients with first ever IS had complete data for score calculation. Seventy-five (39 women) of them were diagnosed with CIS. CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores were significantly higher in the AP group of 19 patients in comparison to the non-AP group of 56 patients (P = 0.005 and P = 0.009, respectively). ROC curve analyses showed an area under curve (AUC) of 0.705 (CI: 0.57-0.84; P = 0.008) for CHADS2 score ≥3 and AUC of 0.699 (CI: 0.57-0.82; P = 0.01) for CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥4. Vascular diseases were more frequent in the AP group and these patients were older than the patients in the non-AP group (P = 0.025, P = 0.024; respectively). CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥ 4 and CHADS2 score ≥3 may be used as a predictor of the occurrence of IS despite regular antiplatelet use and suggest an embolic source which will respond better to anticogulation. Our results support that CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores may be useful to identify subgroups among patients with CIS for individualizing diagnostic approach, planning future workup and preventive treatment.