Predicting the prognosis of unilateral spatial neglect using magnetic resonance imaging in patients with stroke: A systematic review

Abstract

Accurate prognosis prediction of unilateral spatial neglect (USN) is clinically important for identifying patients with potentially poor recovery who require more intensive rehabilitation and early interdisciplinary support for residual disabilities. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based neuroimaging can provide clinicians with high-quality and high-resolution neuroanatomical information from the aspects of neuroanatomy, integrity of the neural tract, and neural functional connectivity. Although the application of MRI is expected beneficial for the prognosis prediction of USN, there is still no systematic review of its usefulness, and it has not been standardized in the field of stroke rehabilitation. Therefore, we conducted this systematic review to consolidate evidence on the usefulness of MRI in predicting the prognosis of USN in patients with stroke. We comprehensively searched the Medline, Scopus, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature electronic databases. We identified 6 longitudinal studies that investigated the relationship between MRI-based neuroimaging findings and subsequent recovery of USN through comprehensive database search. All included studies showed the usefulness of MRI-based findings in predicting the prognosis of USN. The findings of this systematic review highlight the importance of a detailed evaluation of affected neural tracts considering with the differences between the USN subtypes, rather than a broad/undetailed classification of the location, for accurate prognosis prediction of USN in patients with stroke. This is the first report to consolidate evidence on the usefulness of MRI in terms of intra- and interhemispheric neural connection in predicting the prognosis of USN in patients with stroke.