RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Recent advances in ischaemic stroke care involve the use of antithrombotic and thrombolytic treatment options aimed at rescuing the salvageable brain tissue. Ischaemic stroke care in Nigeria is still a far cry from what's obtainable in advanced parts of the world where antithrombotic treatment options are being actively explored. A correlation of the volume of stroke lesion with patient outcome is a background for demonstrating the need for more tailored care to be studied in this part of the world. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with acute ischemic stroke who had brain computed tomography scans within 7 days of symptom onset were recruited consecutively and followed up for one month to assess the modified Rankin Scale(mRS) outcome. Infarct volume measurement was correlated with the patient outcome using the student T-test, logistic and linear regressions. The collected data were analyzed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. The statistical level of significance was set at P£0.05. RESULTS: One hundred and nine (109) patients were recruited with a mean lesion volume of 32.9cm3. Volumes of 26.0cm3 and 79.9cm3 were seen in patients alive versus dead at onemonth post insult with a P-value of 0.000, 13.6cm3 and 38.7cm3 seen in patients with favorable and unfavorable outcomes respectively on the modified Ranking Scale (P<0.009). Linear and logistic regression of lesion volume on outcome were both significant (P<0.000). CONCLUSION: Cranial CT measurement of Acute ischaemic stroke lesion volume correlates with the mRS assessment of patient outcome at one-month post insult.
