A Study Of Diffusion MRI For Assessing The Prognosis Of Brain Stem Infarction

Objective To investigate the Correlation of DWI volume and the prognosis of brainstem infarction. Methods A total of 60 consecutive patients(mean age 60±9.8) with acute brain stem infarction were enrolled in the study,all patients were confirmed by MRI.Demographics,laboratory data, and clinic data were collected. According to the modified Rankin scale(mRS)scoresbased on 90 days of follow-up,the patients were divided into either a good outcome group(mRS score 0 to 2)or a poor outcome group(mRS score 3 to6). Multivariate logistic regression model were used to analyze the correlation between brain stem infarction volume and the prognosis of acute brain stem infarction. Results There were37(61.6%)of 60 patients in the good outcome group and 23(38.4%) of those in the poor outcome group. Spearman correlation analysis show that there was a significant correlation between baseline NIHSS score and 90 days of mRS scores (r= 0.654, P< 0.001),there was a significant correlation between baseline NIHSS score and brain stem infarction volume (Spearman r= 0.522, P<0.001).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that brain stem infarction volume [odds ratio(OR) 3.151,95% confidence interval(CI) 1.297～7.653,P=0.011]and baseline NIHSS score [1.455,1.119～ 1.894,P=0.005]were independent risk factors of the prognosis of acute brain stem infarction. Conclusion Most of the prognosis of acute brain stem infarction is good,the mortality rate is low,most infarction locatin is in pontine.Patients with high admission NIHSS score and high infarct volume were in the poor outcome.