Modified diffusion-weighted imaging-Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score including deep white matter lesions predicts symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage following intravenous thrombolysis

Koji Tanaka,Takeshi Yamada,Ryo Yamasaki,Konosuke Furuta,Kei-Ichiro Takase,Jun-Ichi Kira,Shoji Matsumoto,Sukehisa Nagano,Taketo Hatano

doi:10.1007/s11239-019-01979-7

Abstract

The Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score (ASPECTS) is widely used for the assessment of early ischemic changes (EICs) before thrombolysis. However, for symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) following intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA), the prediction abilities of CT-ASPECTS, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI)-ASPECTS, and DWI-ASPECTS including EICs in deep white matter (DWI-ASPECTS + W) are unclear. We investigated associations between each score and sICH following intravenous rt-PA. Data from consecutive patients who received intravenous rt-PA for acute ischemic stroke from 2005 to 2015 in four hospitals were retrospectively screened. We included data from patients who had undergone both CT and magnetic resonance imaging before thrombolysis and without evidence of posterior circulation stroke. We analyzed the ability of CT-ASPECTS, DWI-ASPECTS, and DWI-ASPECTS + W to predict sICH, accompanied by an increase in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score of ≥ 4 within the initial 36 h. Of 455 patients (273 men, median 75 years old), sICH occurred in 15 patients (3.3%). Receiver operating characteristics curve analysis showed that the optimal cut-offs of CT-ASPECTS, DWI-ASPECTS, and DWI-ASPECTS + W for predicting sICH were ≤ 9 (sensitivity 60.0%, specificity 59.8%, c-statistic 0.625), ≤ 6 (sensitivity 53.3%, specificity 80.9%, c-statistic 0.718), and ≤ 8 (sensitivity 86.7%, specificity 55.9%, c-statistic 0.756), respectively. A DWI-ASPECTS + W of ≤ 8 was independently associated with sICH (odds ratio 5.21, 95% confidence interval 1.30–35.31) after adjustment for pretreatment with antithrombotic agents, pretreatment NIHSS score, and large artery occlusions. DWI-ASPECTS + W predicted sICH in patients with acute anterior circulation stroke receiving intravenous rt-PA.

Highlights

Intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator is an established treatment for acute ischemic stroke that reduces mortality and improves long-term functional outcomes
white matter (WM) lesions were seen in 255 patients (56.0%), and the computed tomography (CT)-Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI)-ASPECTS scores were lower in patients with WM lesions (10 [8,9,10] vs. 10 [9,10], p = 0.003 and 8 [7,8,9,10] vs. 9 [8,9,10], p < 0.001, respectively)
This study investigated the association between the extent of Early ischemic changes (EICs) as measured by three scores and symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) following intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA)

Summary

Introduction

Intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) is an established treatment for acute ischemic stroke that reduces mortality and improves long-term functional outcomes. Intravenous administration of rt-PA increases the risk of sICH [1, 2], which leads to high mortality and poor functional outcomes [3]. Ischemic changes (EICs) on pretreatment computed tomography (CT) or diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) are predictive for the efficacy of intravenous rt-PA [4,5,6]. The Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) is a standardized scoring system for the assessment of EICs and is widely used in clinical practice for time-dependent treatment of acute ischemic stroke [7, 8]. A low DWI-ASPECTS has been identified as predictive for sICH following intravenous rt-PA for acute ischemic stroke [10, 11, 14]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion