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Published on: September 25, 2016
Association Between Thrombus Perviousness Assessed on Computed Tomography and Stroke Cause
Anna Kufner1,2,3, Hebun Erdur1,2, Matthias Endres1,2,3,4,5
1Klinik und Hochschulambulanz für Neurologie (A.K., H.E., M.E., C.H.N., L.S.).
Insights
Thrombus perviousness (TP) measured on CT scans can help identify cardioembolic stroke. This imaging marker, thrombus attenuation increase, shows high specificity for cardioembolic stroke, aiding in secondary prevention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Radiology
- Cardiology
Background:
- Thrombus perviousness (TP) is a novel imaging marker assessed via noncontrast computed tomography (NCCT) and CT angiography.
- Previous studies suggest TP may be highly specific for identifying cardioembolic stroke.
- The factors influencing TP and its diagnostic accuracy require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify clinical and laboratory parameters affecting thrombus perviousness (TP) measurements.
- To validate the diagnostic accuracy of TP in an independent cohort of acute ischemic stroke patients.
- To determine if TP can differentiate cardioembolic stroke from other stroke etiologies.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 75 patients with middle cerebral artery (M1) occlusions.
- Segmentation of thrombi on coregistered NCCT and CT angiography.
- Calculation of thrombus attenuation increase and void fraction to quantify TP.
Main Results:
- TP measures were significantly higher in cardioembolic stroke patients compared to large artery atherosclerosis stroke patients (P=0.001).
- Only stroke cause, not clinical or laboratory parameters, was significantly associated with TP.
- Thrombus attenuation increase independently predicted cardioembolic stroke (OR=1.12, P=0.004) with 100% specificity at a cutoff of 6.23 HU.
Conclusions:
- TP assessment on baseline CT angiography in M1 occlusion may help determine cardioembolic stroke cause.
- TP measures can guide secondary prevention strategies for stroke patients.
- Clinical and laboratory parameters, excluding stroke cause, did not significantly influence TP.
Background And Purpose:
A recent study proposed that thrombus perviousness (TP)-the degree to which contrast agents penetrate the thrombus in an occluded vessel measured on noncontrast computed tomography (NCCT) and CT angiography-may be associated with cardioembolic stroke cause with high specificity. Our aim was to investigate which clinical and laboratory parameters affect measures of TP and to validate its diagnostic accuracy in an independent cohort of patients with acute ischemic stroke.
Methods:
Seventy-five patients from a prospectively maintained database with proximal occlusions of the middle cerebral artery (M1) were retrospectively analyzed. Thrombi were segmented on coregistered noncontrast computed tomography and CT angiography to determine the thrombus attenuation increase and void fraction (attenuation increase relative to contralateral side).
Results:
TP measures were significantly higher in patients with cardioembolic stroke compared to patients with stroke attributed to large artery atherosclerosis (median thrombus attenuation increase [interquartile range], 2.79 [-3.54 to 8.85] versus -5.11 [-11.23 to -1.47]; P=0.001). In linear regression analysis for TP including age, time to scan, prior medication with antiplatelets or anticoagulants, and selected laboratory parameters, only stroke cause was significantly associated with TP. In multivariable binary logistic regression analysis for dichotomized stroke cause (ie, cardioembolic versus noncardioembolic stroke), only thrombus attenuation increase was independently associated with cardioembolic stroke (odds ratio of 1.12 [95% CI, 1.04-1.22]; P=0.004). Receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated that TP can identify cardioembolic stroke with an area under the curve of 0.75 (95% CI, 0.63-0.87) for thrombus attenuation increase. With a cutoff value of 6.23 Hounsfield units, cardioembolic strokes were identified with 100% specificity. Results for void fraction were similar.
Conclusions:
The assessment of TP on baseline noncontrast computed tomography/CT angiography in patients with M1 occlusion may aid in determining cardioembolic stroke cause and guide secondary prevention. Selected clinical and laboratory parameters other than stroke cause did not affect TP measures.
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