Zhang, JingyanPuri, Ajit SKhan, Muhammad A.Goddeau, Richard P. JrHenninger, Nils2022-08-232022-08-232014-11-012017-05-24AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2014 Nov-Dec;35(11):2070-5. 2014 Jul 3. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3174/ajnr.A4029">Link to article on publisher's site</a>0195-6108 (Linking)10.3174/ajnr.A402924994827https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/48149<p>Co-author Nils Henninger is a doctoral student in the Millennium PhD Program (MPP) in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) at UMass Medical School.</p>BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Leukoaraiosis is a common finding among patients with ischemic stroke and has been associated with poor stroke outcomes. Our aim was to ascertain whether the severity of pre-existing leukoaraiosis is associated with outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke who are treated with endovascular stroke therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data from 129 consecutive, prospectively enrolled patients with stroke undergoing endovascular stroke therapy at a single tertiary care center between January 2006 and August 2013. Leukoaraiosis was assessed as supratentorial white matter hypoattenuation on admission head CT and graded as 0-2 (absent-to-moderate) versus 3-4 (severe) according to the van Swieten scale. We dichotomized the 90-day mRS into good (0-2 or return to baseline) versus poor (3-6) as the primary study outcome. Incremental multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of a poor 90-day outcome. RESULTS: In all multivariable models, severe leukoaraiosis was independently (P < .05) associated with a poor outcome at 90 days (fully adjusted model: OR, 6.37; 95% CI, 1.83-12.18; P = .004). The independent association between leukoaraiosis and a poor outcome remained when the analysis was restricted to patients who were alive at discharge (n = 87, P < .05). Last, among patients who were alive at discharge, those with severe leukoaraiosis had significantly less frequent improvement on the mRS from discharge to 90 days compared with patients with absent-to-moderate leukoaraiosis (P = .034). CONCLUSIONS: The severity of pre-existing leukoaraiosis is independently associated with 90-day functional outcome in patients with stroke who underwent endovascular stroke therapy. These results highlight the need to further explore leukoaraiosis as a promising surrogate marker for poor outcome after endovascular stroke therapy to improve risk assessment, patient selection, and early prognostic accuracy.en-USNervous System DiseasesNeurologyRadiologyJournal Articlehttps://escholarship.umassmed.edu/radiology_pubs/25710207189radiology_pubs/257