Acute and episodic vestibular syndromes caused by ischemic stroke: predilection sites on diffusion-weighted images

Abstract

Background Although acute vestibular syndrome (AVS) and episodic vestibular syndrome (EVS) are an increasingly recognized cause of acute ischemic stroke, the predilection sites of AVS/EVS caused by acute ischemic stroke still is less known. Methods From Mar 2014 to Mar 2016 period, we used a new approach of 11thedition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) to retrospectively enrolled patients with identified AVS/EVS events caused by acute ischemic stroke in the stroke center of tertiary teaching hospital. The patients who had positive diffusion-weighted images (DWI) lesion and MRA were analyzed. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify the risk of stroke causing AVS/EVS. Results Among 181 AVS/EVS patients with ischemic stroke, 68 (37.6%) patients with acute ischemic stroke were proved by DWI. Of them, the most frequent type was EVS (60.3%); the predilection sites of stroke was in the insular (51.7%, 15/29) in the anterior circulation artery (ACA), followed by the posterior of thalamus (28.6%, 8/28) in the posterior circulation artery (PCA). The lesion on DWI showed a median diameter of 4.0mm (range,0.6-89.4). The risk of AVS/EVS in acute ischemic stroke was found in association with large vessel stenosis/ occlusion (odds ratio[OR],, 0.12; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.040-0.357), focal neurological symptom /sign (OR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.104-0.751), and higher initial ABCD2 score (OR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.239-0.573). Conclusions The predilection site of the AVS/EVS caused by acute ischemic stroke is in the insular. The risk of AVS/EVS was associated with a large vessel stenosis, focal neurological symptoms, and higher initial ABCD2 score.