Target mismatch criteria in acute ischemic stroke patients with distal-medium vessel occlusion.

introductionThe efficacy of endovascular treatment (EVT) in ischemic stroke patients with distal-medium vessel occlusion (DMVO) remains unclear. We evaluated whether CT-perfusion target mismatch criteria (TMC) could predict functional independence in patients with M2 non- or codominant middle cerebral artery DMVO. MATERIALS AND

methodsThis retrospective study analyzed consecutive patients with M2 DMVO receiving EVT and imaged with multimodal CT study protocol within 24 h from onset. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to identify the infarct core volume cutoff to predict functional independence (modified Rankin Scale 0-2 at 3-months). This parameter was subsequently considered as part of TMC together with penumbra volume ⩾ 10 mL and mismatch ratio ⩾1.2. The association between TMC and functional independence was tested with logistic regression.

resultsA total of 115 patients with M2 were included. Infarct core volume had good discriminative ability for functional independence (AUC 0.75; 95%CI 0.64-0.84) and the best cut-off value was ⩽30 mL (77% sensitivity, 61% specificity, 69% positive predictive value, 70% negative predictive value). TMC were independently associated with functional independence (OR [odds ratio] = 6.50, 95%CI = 2.37-17.77, DISCUSSION AND

conclusionIn patients with M2 non- or codominant DMVO receiving EVT, TMC identified as core volume ⩽30 mL, penumbra volume ⩾ 10 mL, and mismatch ratio ⩾ 1.2, were associated with better functional outcome. Our findings suggest that functional independence after EVT was not directly related to successful recanalization, which is indeed effective only in patients with a favorable baseline imaging profile, including a small infarct core size, and in the presence of small penumbra volumes.