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Association of Posttreatment Hyperperfusion on Arterial Spin Labeling with Fluid-Attenuated Inversion Recovery
Wen-Jing Ni1, Guang-Chen Shen1, Gao Ma1
1Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Introduction:
The prognosis of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) following endovascular therapy (EVT) is largely influenced by the extent of reperfusion. Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery vascular hyperintensity (FVH) is a simple imaging sign which assessed based on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images. We aimed to evaluate whether FVH on posttreatment FLAIR can serve as a surrogate imaging marker of cortical hyperperfusion identified by arterial spin labeling (ASL) in patients with AIS after EVT.
Methods:
We retrospectively enrolled 150 patients with AIS who achieved successful recanalization after EVT. Clinical data and posttreatment magnetic resonance imaging sequences including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), FLAIR, and ASL were systematically collected. The 150 patients were categorized into four groups based on DWI and FVH status (A: DWI-, FVH-; B: DWI+, FVH-; C: DWI-, FVH+; D: DWI+, FVH+). Perfusion was evaluated within six predefined Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) regions (M1-M6) per patient, yielding a total of 900 cortical regions analyzed. The perfusion status was evaluated based on visual assessment of absolute cerebral blood flow maps derived from ASL, followed by statistical analysis.
Results:
Among the 900 cortical territories, 250 (27.78%) were classified as group A, 361 (40.11%) as group B, 55 (6.11%) as group C, and 234 (26.00%) as group D. Inter-rater agreement for evaluating the status of posttreatment FVH was excellent (κ = 0.851). There were significant differences in perfusion characteristics across four groups (p < 0.001). In subgroup analysis, group C exhibited a higher proportion of hyperperfusion compared to group A (21.82% vs. 15.20%), although the difference did not reach significance (p = 0.442), while group D demonstrated a significantly higher percentage of hyperperfusion relative to group B (48.72% vs. 34.34%, p < 0.001).
Conclusion:
Positive FVH may be associated with post-EVT cortical hyperperfusion in AIS patients following successful revascularization.
