Persistent perfusion abnormalities at day 1 correspond to different clinical trajectories after stroke

Perfusion abnormalities after thrombolysis are frequent within and surrounding ischemic lesions, but their relative frequency is not well known.

To describe the different patterns of perfusion abnormalities observed at 24 hours and compare the characteristics of the patients according to their perfusion pattern.

From our thrombolysis registry, we included 226 consecutive patients with an available arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion sequence at day 1. We performed a blinded assessment of the perfusion status (hypoperfusion-h, hyperperfusion-H, or normal-N) in the ischemic lesion and in the surrounding tissue. We compared the time course of clinical recovery, the rate of arterial recanalization, and hemorrhagic transformations in the different perfusion profiles.

We identified seven different perfusion profiles at day 1. Four of these (h/h, h/H, H/H, and H/N) represented the majority of the population (84.1%). The H/H profile was the most frequent (34.5%) and associated with 3-month good outcome (modified Rankin Scale (mRS): 63.5%). Patients with persistent hypoperfusion within and outside the lesion (h/h, 12.4%) exhibited worse outcomes after treatment (mRS score 0-2: 23.8%) than other patients, were less frequently recanalized (40.7%), and had more parenchymal hematoma (17.8%). The h/H profile had an intermediate clinical trajectory between the h/h profile and the hyperperfused profiles.

ASL hypoperfusion within the infarct and the surrounding tissue was associated with poor outcome. A more comprehensive view of the mechanisms in the hypoperfused surrounding tissue could help to design new therapeutic approaches during and after reperfusion therapies.