Effect of intracranial internal carotid artery calcification on prognosis of patients with mild ischemic stroke

  Objective  To evaluate the degree of intracranial internal carotid artery calcifications (I-ICAC) according to the computed tomography (CT) and CT perfusion imaging (CTP), and to explore the correlation between degree of I-ICAC and prognosis in patients with mild ischemic stroke (MIS).

  Methods  A retrospective analysis was performed for 228 MIS patients, and they were divided into mild I-ICAC group (n=152) and severe I-ICAC group (n=76) according to I-ICAC scores evaluated on the basis of CT and CTP results. The 90-day recurrence of ischemic stroke of two groups was observed, and the improvement conditions of 90-day National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, 90-day modified Ranking Scale (mRS) score and all-cause mortality were observed as well.

  Results  Compared with the mild I-ICAC group, the recurrence rate of ischemic stroke in the severe I-ICAC group was significantly higher, and the ratio of cases with improvement rate of NIHSS score was significantly lower (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the ratio of cases with improvement rate of 90-day mRS score and all-cause mortality between the two groups (P>0.05).

  Conclusion  Patients with severe I-ICAC have higher risk of ischemic stroke recurrence, so we should pay more attention to the I-ICAC evaluation of patients with MIS.