CT perfusion imaging in the early diagnosis of acute stroke

Early diagnosis of acute cerebral infarction is critical due to the time limit of thrombolytic treatment. Cerebral computed tomography (CT) perfusion imaging is a new technique, which appears to provide early diagnosis of major vessel occlusions in the brain. CT perfusion imaging also provides valuable information about the hemodynamic status of ischemic brain tissue. In this report, we present the CT perfusion findings in comparison to the non-contrast CT and diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings in two cases of acute cerebral infarction. Non-contrast CT findings were non-specific in the first case and there was minimal hypoattenuation in the superior aspect of the lentiform nucleus in the second case. CT perfusion imaging demonstrated significant perfusion defects in the middle cerebral artery territory in both cases. DW-MR imaging confirmed acute infarctions, which were smaller than the perfusion defect areas in the CT perfusion imaging in both cases.