Hyperdense middle cerebral artery sign and outcome after intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke

Background: The presence of a hyperdense middle cerebral artery sign (HMCAS) on baseline brain CT is associated with poor clinical outcome in stroke patients treated with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). It remains uncertain whether the presence of HMCAS is associated with acute neurological deterioration after tPA treatment.Objective: To evaluate the effect of HMCAS in routinely intravenous tPA-treated patients with anterior circulation stroke on acute neurological deterioration, the 3-month functional outcome and the occurrence of symptomatic ICH.Methods: We analyzed data from a single stroke unit registry of 384 consecutive patients with anterior circulation infarction, treated with intravenous tPA. Logistic regression models were used to assess if HMCAS was independently associated with predefined outcome definitions.Results: We found a HMCAS in 104 patients (27%). The HMCAS was related to the risk of early neurological deterioration (p=0.04) and poor functional outcome (pConclusions: The HMCAS is associated with early neurological deterioration and poor functional outcome, but not with symptomatic ICH. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.