Original Paper

One-Year Case Fatality and Disability after Posterior Circulation Infarction in a Chinese Hospital-Based Stroke Study
Wen-Dan Tao, Fan-Yi Kong, Zi-Long Hao, Sen Lin, De-Ren Wang, Bo Wu, Ming Liu

The Stroke Clinical Research Unit, Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China

Address of Corresponding Author

Cerebrovasc Dis 2010;29:376-381 (DOI: 10.1159/000281836)

  Key Words

• Stroke
• Anterior circulation infarction
• Posterior circulation infarction
• Case fatality
• Disability

  Abstract

Background and Purpose: Controversy exists as to whether posterior circulation infarction (PCI) has a poorer outcome compared to anterior circulation infarction (ACI). We aimed to investigate whether PCI had different clinical outcomes from ACI in Chinese patients with ischemic stroke. Methods: Data on ischemic stroke patients with ACI or PCI were collected including demographics, risk factors and 1-month, 3-month, and 1-year case fatality and disability (defined as modified Rankin Scale 3–5). Multivariate regression models were used to analyze predictors for death and disability. Results: Of the 1,962 enrolled cases, 433 (22.1%) had PCI. The case fatality of PCI at 1-month, 3-month and 1-year follow-up (FU) were lower than that of ACI (3.93, 5.3 and 9.7% vs. 7.26, 9.3 and 13.7%, p <0.05), and the proportion of disability was also lower in PCI at 3-month FU (19.6 vs. 29.1%, p<0.001) and 1-year FU (6.5 vs. 15.2%, p<0.001). The adjusted hazard ratio of death for PCI was 0.52 at 1 month (95% CI 0.29–0.94) and 0.52 at 3 months (95% CI 0.31–0.85), and the adjusted odds of disability in patients with PCI was 0.53 at 1 year (95% CI 0.35–0.81). Conclusions: In our cohort, patients with PCI have a lower risk of death at 1- and 3-month FU and a lower proportion of disability at 1-year FU, which needs to be verified by future studies.

Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Prof. Ming Liu
Stroke Clinical Research Unit, Department of Neurology
West China Hospital, Sichuan University
No. 37, Guo Xue Xiang, Chengdu 610041 (PR China)
Tel./Fax +86 288 542 3551, E-Mail wyplmh@hotmail.com

  Article Information

Received: September 9, 2009
Accepted: December 8, 2009
Published online: February 9, 2010
Number of Print Pages : 6
Number of Figures : 1, Number of Tables : 5, Number of References : 31