Comparison of predisposing factors，clinical presentations，and radiological features in patients with intracranial and extracranial posterior circulation artery dissection / 中风与神经疾病杂志

ABSTRACT

@#Cervicocerebral artery dissection（CAD） is an important cause of ischemic stroke in young and middle-aged individuals. At present，there are few studies on posterior circulation CAD. We compared the predisposing factors，clinical presentations，and radiological features in patients with intracranial and extracranial posterior circulation CAD. Methods Patients diagnosed with posterior circulation CAD in the last decade were enrolled. All patients were divided into the extracranial or intracranial group according to the lesion location of the dissection. The data of baseline characteristics，predisposing factors，clinical manifestations，and radiological features of the two groups were compared.Results A total of 59 patients were included in the study，including 33 patients in the intracranial posterior circulation CAD group and 26 patients in the extracranial group. The age of the extracranial group was younger than that of the intracranial group （P=0.0022）.The mean age was （45.12±13.33）and（34.85±10.57） years old，respectively. Smoking was more often in the intracranial group （51.52%） than extracranial group （15.54%，P=0.0013）. Additionally，a history of head or neck trauma was more frequently observed in the extracranial group compared with the intracranial group （26.92% vs. 6.06%，P=0.0269）.Headache was more common in the intracranial group. By contrast，neck pain was more frequently in the extracranial group.Conclusions The predisposing factors and clinical presentations of intracranial and extracranial CAD were different.These differences may help to distinguish intracranial and extracranial posterior circulation dissection.