Magnetic resonance imaging infarct volume correlates with carotid intima–media thickness and plaque echotexture in ischemic stroke

Abstract

Objective: To determine the correlation between cerebral infarct volume, carotid intima–media thickness (CIMT), and plaque echotexture in patients with ischemic stroke. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 70 patients with ischemic stroke who were imaged using the head coil of a 1.5T Toshiba magnetic resonance machine. The volumes of infarcts were documented and calculated using the manual tracing of the infarct perimeter method. The common carotid CIMT was measured on ultrasound using a linear high-frequency 7.5 MHz transducer. Results: Seventy subjects were evaluated. The mean magnetic resonance imaging cerebral infarct volume was 8.07% volume. Hyperechoic plaques were the most prevalent (36.7%) compared to the hypoechoic (33.3%) and isoechoic (30%) plaques. There was a moderate positive correlation between CIMT and infarct volume ( r = 0.70; P = 0.001) in the entire study population. Similarly, positive correlations between CIMT and infarct volume were recorded in both the male ( r = 0.73; P = 0.001) and female ( r = 0.67; P = 0.001) subjects. Furthermore, subjects who presented in the acute phase (1–3 days) of ictus showed a moderate positive correlation ( r = 0.621; P = 0.0001) between CIMT and infarct volume, while there was a strong positive correlation ( r = 0.74; P = 0.0001) in subjects that presented in the subacute phase (4–7 days). Conclusion: Common carotid artery CIMT correlated positively with cerebral infarct volume in patients with ischemic stroke. Furthermore, hyperechoic plaques were associated with significantly larger infarct volumes compared to hypoechoic and isoechoic plaques.