Fast multimode MRI based emergency assessment of hyperacute stroke thrombolysis

Objective: To investigate the value of fast multimode magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based emergency assessment hyperacute stroke thrombolysis. Methods: One hundred and twenty four patients with 12 hour window acute ischemic strokes were examined by fast multimode MRI, and among them, 46 patients with hyperacute cerebral infarction confirmed by fast multimode MRI were treated by recombinant tissue plasminogen activator and followed up periodically by MRI. Results: The 46 patients selected by fast multimode MRI to receive thrombolytics demonstrated clinical improvement with 90 days modified Rankin scale scores <= 2 and life quality Barthal index of 80-100. Six patients developed asymptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (13.0%) 1-7 days after receiving thrombolytics. Conclusions: Patients suffering from hyperacute ischemic cerebral infarction that are strong candidates for intravenous thrombolytic therapy can be identified by multimode MRI, especially for those whose time windows were undefined or beyond 3 hours after symptom onset. Fast multimodal MRI based selection of the hyperacute stroke model is more feasible compared with the traditional diffusion weighted imaging/perfusion weighted imaging mismatch model for the emergency assessment of hyperacute stroke thrombolysis. [Neurol Res 2009; 31: 346-350]