Assessment of cerebral infarction after transient cerebral ischemic attack by ABCD2 score combined with the position of intracranial vascular stenosis

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the value of the ABCD2 score combined with the position of the offending vessel stenosis in predicting the risk of transient ischemic attack (TIA) to develop into cerebral infarction. The ABCD2 score and head magnetic resonance imaging + magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) results of 192 patients with TIA were retrospectively analyzed. With the 7th day as the endpoint time, these patients were divided into 3 groups, according to ABCD2 scores: low-risk group (n = 105), moderate-risk group (n = 60), and high-risk group (n = 27). Blood vessels were screened using head MRA results, and patients were accordingly divided into 2 groups: proximal vascular stenosis group (n = 71) and nonproximal vascular stenosis group (n = 171). Then, the association of the position of the intracranial vascular stenosis and ABCD2 score with short-term prognosis was analyzed. Based on the ABCD2 score, the incidence of cerebral infarction after 1 week was significantly higher in the high-risk group (85.7%) than in the moderate-risk group (16.7%) and low-risk group (1.9%), and the differences were statistically significant (P < .05). When the ABCD2 score was ≥4 points, the incidence of cerebral infarction after 1 week was significantly higher in the proximal vascular stenosis group (59.1%) than in the nonproximal vascular stenosis group (30.8%), and the difference was statistically significant (P < .05). When the ABCD2 score was <4 points, the incidence of cerebral infarction after 1 week in the proximal stenosis group (2%) was not significantly different from that in the nonproximal stenosis group (1.9%, P > .05). The ABCD2 score combined with proximal offending vessel stenosis can improve the short-term prediction of cerebral infarction in patients with TIA.