Article Text
Abstract
Purpose We retrospectively evaluated the effect of brain atrophy on the outcome of patients after a large cerebral infarct.
Methods Between June 2003 and Oct 2008, 134 of 2975 patients with stroke were diagnosed as having a large cerebral infarct. The mean age of the patients was 70 (21–95) y. The mean infarct volume was 223.6±95.2 cm3 (46.0–491.0). The inter-caudate distance (ICD) was calculated as an indicator of brain atrophy by measuring the hemi-ICD of the intact side and then multiplying by two to account for brain swelling at the infarct site. The mean ICD was 18.0±4.8 mm (9.6–37.6).
Results Forty-nine (36.6%) patients experienced a malignant clinical outcome (MCO) during management in the hospital. Thirty-one (23.1%) patients had a favourable functional outcome (FO) (modified Rankin scale (mRS) ≤3) and 49 (36.6%) had an acceptable functional outcome (AO) (mRS≤4) at 6 months after stroke onset. In the multivariate analysis, brain atrophy (ICD≥20 mm) had a significant and independent protective effect on MCO (p=0.003; OR=0.137; 95% CI 0.037 to 0.503). With respect to FO, the age and infarct volume reached statistical significance (p<0.001, OR=0.844, 95% CI 0.781 to 0.913; p=0.006, OR=0.987, 95% CI 0.977 to 0.996, respectively). Brain atrophy (ICD≥20 mm) was negatively associated only with AO (p=0.022; OR=0.164; 95% CI 0.035 to 0.767).
Conclusions Brain atrophy may have an association with clinical outcome after a large stroke by a trend of saving patients from an MCO but also by interfering with their functional recovery.
- Brain atrophy
- cerebral infarction
- fatal outcome
- functional outcome
- hemicraniectomy
- image analysis
- neurosurgery
- stroke
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Footnotes
Competing interests None.
Ethics approval This study was conducted with the approval of the Seoul National University Hospital.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.