Clinical Study Detection of Early Ischemic Changes in Noncontrast CT Head Improved with ‘‘Stroke Windows’’

Copyright © 2014 Shraddha Mainali et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Introduction. Noncontrast head CT (NCCT) is the standard radiologic test for patients presenting with acute stroke. Early ischemic changes (EIC) are often overlooked on initial NCCT. We determine the sensitivity and specificity of improved EIC detection by a standardized method of image evaluation (Stroke Windows). Methods. We performed a retrospective chart review to identify patients with acute ischemic stroke who had NCCT at presentation. EIC was defined by the presence of hyperdense MCA/basilar artery sign; sulcal effacement; basal ganglia/subcortical hypodensity; and loss of cortical gray-white differentiation. NCCT wa