Low blood flow ratio is associated with hemorrhagic transformation secondary to mechanical thrombectomy in patients with acute ischemic stroke

Background and purpose

A significant decrease of cerebral blood flow (CBF) is a risk factor for hemorrhagic transformation (HT) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). This study aimed to ascertain whether the ratio of different CBF thresholds derived from computed tomography perfusion (CTP) is an independent risk factor for HT after mechanical thrombectomy (MT).

Methods

A retrospective single center cohort study was conducted on patients with AIS undergoing MT at the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from August 2018 to December 2023. The perfusion parameters before thrombectomy were obtained according to CTP automatic processing software. The low blood flow ratio (LFR) was defined as the ratio of brain volume with relative CBF <20 % over volume with relative CBF <30 %. HT was evaluated on the follow-up CT images. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the correlation between parameters that differ between the two groups with regards to HT occurrence. The predictive efficacy was assessed utilizing the receiver operating characteristic curve.

Results

In total, 243 patients met the inclusion criteria. During the follow-up, 46.5 % of the patients (113/243) developed HT. Compared with the Non-HT group, the HT group had a higher LFR (0.47 (0.34–0.65) vs. 0.32 (0.07–0.56); P < 0.001). According to the binary logistic regression analysis, the LFR (aOR: 6.737; 95 % CI: 1.994–22.758; P = 0.002), Hypertension history (aOR: 2.231; 95 % CI: 1.201–4.142; P = 0.011), plasma FIB levels before MT (aOR: 0.641; 95 % CI: 0.456–0.902; P = 0.011), and the mismatch ratio (aOR: 0.990; 95 % CI: 0.980–0.999; P = 0.030) were independently associated with HT secondary to MT. The area under the curve of the regression model for predicting HT was 0.741.

Conclusion

LFR, a ratio quantified via CTP, demonstrates potential as an independent risk factor of HT secondary to MT.