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(Stroke. 2008;39:3424.)
© 2008 American Heart Association, Inc.

Research Letters

Focal Fluid-Attenuated Inversion Recovery Hyperintensity Within Acute Diffusion-Weighted Imaging Lesions Is Associated With Symptomatic Intracerebral Hemorrhage After Thrombolysis

A-Hyun Cho, MD; Jong S. Kim, MD; Sang-Joon Kim, MD; Sung-Cheol Yun, PhD; Choong-Gon Choi, MD; Hyoung-Ryoul Kim, MD; Sun U. Kwon, MD; Deok-Hee Lee, MD; Eun-Kyung Kim, RN; Dae-Chul Suh, MD Dong-Wha Kang, MD, PhD

From the Departments of Neurology (A.-H.C., J.S.K., S.U.K., E.-K.K., D.-W.K.), Radiology (S.-J.K., C.-G.C., D.-H.L., D.-C.S.), and Preventive Medicine (S.-C.Y.), Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; and the Departments of Neurology (A.-H.C.) and Preventive Medicine (H.-R.K.), The Catholic University of Korea, St Mary’s Hospital, Seoul, Korea.

Correspondence to Dong-Wha Kang, MD, PhD, Department of Neurology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 388-1 Pungnap-2 dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul 138-736, South Korea. E-mail dwkang{at}amc.seoul.kr

Background and Purpose— We investigated whether focal hyperintensity on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery image within acute infarcts is associated with symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH) after thrombolysis.

Methods— Patients with acute ischemic stroke who underwent MRI screening before thrombolysis were enrolled. The presence of focal fluid-attenuated inversion recovery hyperintensity within acute infarcts did not preclude thrombolysis. SICH was defined as hemorrhagic transformation with any neurological decline (SICH-1) or with an increase in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale of 4 (SICH-2) within 48 hours.

Results— Among 88 included patients, focal fluid-attenuated inversion recovery hyperintensity within acute infarct lesions was observed in 27 (30.7%) patients. Multivariate analysis showed that focal fluid-attenuated inversion recovery hyperintensity was independently associated with SICH-1 (OR, 13.64; 95% CI, 1.51 to 123.28) and SICH-2 (OR, 10.44; 95% CI, 1.11 to 98.35).

Conclusion— The presence of focal fluid-attenuated inversion recovery hyperintensity within acute infarcts may increase the risk of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage after thrombolysis.

Key Words: acute stroke • intracerebral hemorrhage • MRI • thrombolysis