Hyperdense middle cerebral artery sign in large cerebral infarction

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate if the hyperdense middle cerebral artery sign (HMCAS) is an imaging biomarker for hemorrhagic transformation (HT) and the functional outcome of patients with large cerebral infarctions without thrombolytic therapy. Materials and Methods: The clinical and imaging data of 312 patients with large cerebral infarction without thrombolytic therapy were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into patients who presented with HMCAS (n = 121) and those who did not (non-HMCAS[n = 168] patients), and the clinical data of the 2 groups were compared. This was a retrospective study. Results: Of the 289 patients, 83(28.7%) developed HT. The incidence of atrial fibrillation, high homocysteine and admission NIHSS score at the time of admission was significantly higher in the HMCAS patients than in non-HMCAS patients (p