One-year follow-up in patients with brainstem infarction due to large-artery atherothrombosis

• Published in: Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment Vol. 11; no. default; pp. 379 - 384
• Main Authors: Asil, Talip, Kolukisa, Mehmet, Ozdemir, Tugce, Baran, Gozde, Aralasmak, Ayse, Kocaman, Gulsen, Azize Esra, Gursoy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Zealand Dove Medical Press Limited 01.01.2015; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Dove Press; Dove Medical Press
• Subjects: Analysis; Atherosclerosis; basilar artery; Blood pressure; Brain; Cardiovascular disease; Care and treatment; Complications and side effects; Embolisms; Emergency medical care; Etiology; extracranial arteries; Family medical history; Health aspects; Heart; intracranial arteries; Localization; Medical imaging; Medical prognosis; Mortality; Neurology; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Original Research; Patients; posterior circulation; Risk factors; Stroke; Stroke (Disease); Stroke patients; Studies; vertebral artery; Vertebrobasilar insufficiency; basilar artery; extracranial arteries; vertebral artery; intracranial arteries; posterior circulation; stroke
• ISSN: 1178-2021; 1176-6328; 1178-2021
• DOI: 10.2147/NDT.S74966

Posterior circulation infarction accounts for approximately 25% of the ischemic strokes. A number of different conditions may be associated with the development of brainstem infarction. Prognosis and recurrence rate of brainstem infarction due to large-artery atherothrombosis is still controversial. A total of 826 patients with ischemic stroke were admitted to our clinic during a 15-month period. Patients with clinical and radiological evidence of brainstem infarction were comprehensively assessed with appropriate vascular imaging modalities and for cardiological causes. Subjects with an established diagnosis of large-artery atherothrombosis were followed up for 1 year in terms of prognosis and recurrence rates. Of the 101 patients with an established brainstem infarction, the diagnostic work-up indicated the presence of large-artery atherothrombosis as the causative factor in 53. A recurrent stroke was detected in the posterior circulation within the first 3 months in 5.8% and within 1 year in 9.8% of these individuals. The 1-year mortality rate was 11.7%. All patients with recurrent stroke had intracranial vascular narrowing at baseline. Our findings demonstrate a particularly high rate of recurrence and mortality at 1 year among patients who have a brainstem infarction due to intracranial arterial stenosis.