Published in

American Heart Association, Stroke, 2(46), p. 564-567, 2015

DOI: 10.1161/strokeaha.114.007797

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

Bright Vessel Appearance on Arterial Spin Labeling MRI for Localizing Arterial Occlusion in Acute Ischemic Stroke

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

Full text: Download

Green circle
Preprint: archiving allowed
Orange circle
Postprint: archiving restricted
Red circle
Published version: archiving forbidden
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

Background and Purpose— The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether bright vessel appearance on arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI can help localize arterial occlusion sites in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods— Patients who underwent MRI for suspected acute ischemic stroke, as identified by an area of restricted diffusion, were included. All images were visually analyzed for the presence or absence of (1) arterial occlusion on time-of-flight MR angiography, (2) bright vessel appearance on ASL images, and (3) susceptibility vessel sign. McNemar 2-tailed test was used to compare the sensitivities of ASL and susceptibility-weighted imaging for the detection of arterial occlusion, using MR angiography as the reference standard. Results— ASL bright vessel appearance was significantly more common in the group with occlusion than in the group without occlusion (94% [33 of 35] versus 21% [17 of 82], respectively; P <0.001). The bright vessel appearance, when present, was seen proximal or distal to the occlusion site. The bright vessel appearance had a significantly higher sensitivity for the detection of occlusion than the susceptibility vessel sign (94% [33 of 35] versus 66% [23 of 35], respectively; P =0.002). In cases with negative MR angiography, the bright vessel appearance helped identify more additional arterial occlusions than the susceptibility vessel sign (21% [17 of 82] versus 10% [8 of 82], respectively; P =0.012). Conclusions— The bright vessel appearance on ASL imaging can provide an important diagnostic clue for the detection and localization of arterial occlusion sites in patients with acute ischemic stroke.