Background
Whether the presence of hyperdense artery sign (HAS) correlates with clot characteristics
and response to intravenous thrombotic therapy (IVT) remains to be determined. Given
that the existent literature was mainly from the Western nations, the current study
aimed to examine the relationships among HAS, clot characteristics, and outcome of
IVT in a Han Chinese sample in Taiwan. The specific objectives are (1) to correlate
HAS with clot characteristics and (2) to explore relationships between HAS and effectiveness/complication
of IVT.
Methods
We enrolled 75 patients treated with IVT following acute large arterial infarctions.
All patients had a baseline brain computed tomography and a follow-up image at 24
hours after thrombolysis. Correlations were explored between HAS and clot characteristics.
Multivariable logistic regressions were employed to examine the relationships between
HAS and response to IVT at 24 hours, including early improvement and all forms of
intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).
Results
In this Han Chinese sample in Taiwan, 50.7% of the patients had HAS and 64% had early
improvements following IVT. Those with HAS tended to have clots lodging at main trunks
of cerebral arteries but no significant associations were found between HAS and stroke
etiology. In multivariable logistic regressions, HAS predicted neither early improvement
nor ICH complication.
Conclusions
Instead of clot etiology, we found that it might be clot location that correlated
with HAS. HAS was not associated with early improvement or ICH complication after
IVT in this Han Chinese sample. We also showed that some other patient characteristics
were likely to influence outcomes of IVT, which warrant clinical attention.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 07, 2016
Accepted:
November 22,
2015
Received in revised form:
November 9,
2015
Received:
September 11,
2015
Footnotes
Role of funding sources: This study was supported by grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (MOST 104-2314-B-418-005) and the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital (FEMH 104-2314-B-418-005 and FEMH-2015-C-021). The funding bodies played no role in the study design, analysis, or interpretation of data in this paper.
Identification
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2015.11.031
Copyright
© 2016 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
