Patterns of Stroke and Collateralization of the Internal Carotid Artery Occlusion in the Neck

J Korean Neurol Assoc > Volume 16(4); 1998 > Article

Journal of the Korean Neurological Association 1998;16(4): 425-431.

근위부 내경동맥 폐쇄의 뇌졸중 양상과 측부 순환에 대한 임상적 고찰

강동화, 조용진, 노재규

서울대학교 의과대학 신경과학 교실

Patterns of Stroke and Collateralization of the Internal Carotid Artery Occlusion in the Neck

Dong-Wha Kang, M.D., Yong-Jin Cho, M.D., Jae-Kyu Roh, M.D.

Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Seoul National University

Abstract

Background & purpose: The aim of our study is to evaluate the stroke pattern, the correlation of collateralization with cerebral perfusion and stroke severity, and the utility of transcranial Doppler(TCD) to detect collateral pathways in patients with internal carotid artery(ICA) occlusion in the neck.
Methods: Thirty-six patients(28 men and 8 women, mean age of 59.6 ? 12.9 years) with ICA occlusion confirmed by transfemoral cerebral angiography(25 patients) or magnetic resonance angiography(MRA, 11 patients) were studied retrospectively. They had no potential cardiac source of stroke. We evaluated the pattern of cerebral infarcts by magnetic resonance imaging, and the number and the patency of collateral vessels, and the degree of perfusion through collaterals by cerebral angiography. The collateral vessels detected by TCD and MRA were compared with those by cerebral angiography.
Results: We found territorial infarcts in 23 patients(64%) and borderzone infarcts in 15(42%). Territorial infarcts(p<0.0001) and borderzone infarcts(p=0.02) occurred more in the ipsilateral hemisphere to the occluded ICA. The prevalence of small subcortical infarcts did not differ between hemispheres. Collateralizations through leptomeningeal anastomosis(p<0.01) and ophthalmic artery(OA, p<0.05) were associated with angiographically reduced cerebral perfusion. Collateralization through OA was also associated with severe symptomatic group(p<0.05); and collateralization through anterior or posterior communicating artery was associated with mild symptomatic group with marginal statistical significance(p=0.097). The number of collateral vessels was associated with neither the degree of perfusion nor the stroke severity. The sensitivity and specificity of TCD to detect collateralization through anterior communicating artery were 100% and 78%, through posterior communicating artery, 67% and 75%, and through OA, 67% and 63%, respectively.
Conclusion: Cerebral infarcts related to a proximal ICA occlusion are more likely to be ipsilateral territorial or borderzone. The type of collateralization is more important factor for cerebral perfusion and stroke severity than the number of collateral vessels. TCD is a reliable tool for the evaluation of the collateral vessels in the patients with ICA occlusion. Key words: internal carotid artery occlusion, collateralization, cerebral perfusion, transcranial Doppler