CT Perfusion Alterations in Patients with Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Unilateral Middle Cerebral Artery Severe Stenosis or Occlusion

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the changes in CT perfusion between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients with unilateral middle cerebral artery severe stenosis or occlusion.

Methods: A total of 64 consecutive patients with unilateral middle cerebral artery severe stenosis or occlusion admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical College from January 2019 to March 2022 were retrospectively analyzed and divided into the symptomatic group (n = 33), and the asymptomatic group (n = 31). Clinical data of the two groups were collected. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the factors of symptomatic and asymptomatic MCA stenosis. A t-test was performed to compare the differences in cerebral perfusion parameters between the two groups.

Results: Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that glycosylated hemoglobin levels and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were associated with the development of asymptomatic MCA severe stenosis or occlusion (odds ratio = 1.591 and 0.04, respectively). There were significant differences in CBV, MTT, and TTP between symptomatic and asymptomatic groups (p < 0.05). The CBF of the affected side in the symptomatic group was lower than that of the unaffected side (p < 0.05), whereas the asymptomatic group in CBF was not. Compared with the asymptomatic group, the CBF, MTT, and TTP of the affected side were significantly different (p < 0.05). In contrast, the cerebral perfusion parameters of the unaffected side were not significantly different (p > 0.05).

Conclusion: The use of CT perfusion imaging to analyze the alterations in cerebral perfusion parameters in patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic MCA severe stenosis or occlusion was helpful in clinical diagnosis and selecting treatment strategies and judging the development of the disease.

Keywords: CTP; Symptomatic; arterial stenosis; asymptomatic; middle cerebral artery; stenosis.