Relationship Between DWI-Based Acute Ischemic Stroke Volume, Location and Severity of Dysphagia

Background/Objectives: The impact of stroke location and volume on the development of post-stroke dysphagia is not fully understood. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between acute ischemic lesions and the severity of dysphagia. Methods: Brain MRIs were obtained with a 1.5 Tesla...

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Main Authors: Carlo A. Mallio, Daniele Vertulli, Gianfranco Di Gennaro, Maria Teresa Ascrizzi, Fioravante Capone, Chiara Grattarola, Vitaliana Luccarelli, Federico Greco, Bruno Beomonte Zobel, Vincenzo Di Lazzaro, Fabio Pilato
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Brain Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/14/12/1185
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Summary:Background/Objectives: The impact of stroke location and volume on the development of post-stroke dysphagia is not fully understood. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between acute ischemic lesions and the severity of dysphagia. Methods: Brain MRIs were obtained with a 1.5 Tesla MRI system (Magnetom Avanto B13, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany). The brain MRI protocol included axial echo planar diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). The acute ischemic volume was obtained using DWI by drawing regions of interest (ROIs). The diagnosis and assessment of the severity of dysphagia was carried out by a multidisciplinary team and included the Dysphagia Outcome and Severity Scale (DOSS), the Penetration–Aspiration Scale (PAS), and the Pooling score (P-score). The threshold for statistical significance was set at 5%. Results: Among all the patients enrolled (<i>n</i> = 64), 28 (43.8%) were males and 36 (56.2%) were females, with a mean age of 78.8 years. Thirty-three (51.6%) of them had mild dysphagia and thirty-one (48.4%) had moderate–severe dysphagia. The total ischemic volume was negatively correlated with the DOSS (r = −0.441, <i>p</i> = 0.0003) and positively with the P-score (r<sub>s</sub> = 0.3054, <i>p</i> = 0.0328). Conclusions: There are significant associations between the severity of dysphagia and the quantitative DWI-based data of the acute ischemic volume and anatomical location.
ISSN:2076-3425