Application of MRI in monitoring the lesion volume evolution of subcortical infarction

Objective:To explore the value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for monitoring the lesion volume evolution and the correlation with the scores of National Institutes of Health stroke scale (NIHSS) in patients with subcortical infarction. Methods:Forty patients with single subcortical infarction of subacute were included in the study. They were divided into lacunar (19 cases) and nonlacunar infarction (21 cases) groups. MRI examination and NIHSS evaluation were performed within 7 days,15 days,1 month,3 months and 6 months in all patients. The difference of infarction volume,NIHSS scores at different time points in lacunar and nonlacunar infarction groups were analyzed,respectively. The correlation between infarction volume and NIHSS scores was also analyzed. Results:In lacunar infarction group,the volume of infarcts decreased over time. There had significant difference among the different examinations (P0.01). NIHSS scores decreased over time. There were significant differences among the different examinations (P0.01). In nonlacunar infarction group,the volume of infarcts decreased over time. However,there were no significant differences among the different examinations (P0.05). NIHSS scores decreased over time. There were significant differences among the different examinations (P0.01). There was no significant correlation between the 1st lesion volume and the 4th and 5th NIHSS in lacunar infarction group (P0.05). However,there was significant positive correlation between 1st lesion volume and the 4th and 5thNIHSS scores,respectively (P0.01). Conclusion:MRI plays an important role for monitoring the lesion volume evolution and the correlation with the clinical outcome.