Agreement and Accuracy of Ischemic Core Volume Evaluated by Three CT Perfusion Software Packages in Acute Ischemic Stroke

J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 2021 Aug;30(8):105872. doi: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2021.105872. Epub 2021 Jun 18.

Abstract

Purpose: To compare the ischemic core volume estimated by CT Perfusion 4D and Vue PACS with that estimated by RAPID software in acute ischemic stroke (AIS).

Materials and methods: CT perfusion data from AIS patients were retrospectively post-processed with RAPID, CT Perfusion 4D and Vue PACS software. The Vue PACS application included three different settings: method A (Circular Singular Value Decomposition), method B (Oscillating index Singular Value Decomposition) and method C (Standard Singular Value Decomposition). Bland-Altman analysis, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and Kappa analysis were used to evaluate concordance between estimated ischemic core values. Final infarct volume (FIV) was measured by follow-up non-contrast CT or MRI 5-7 days after mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in patients with successful recanalization.

Results: A total of 82 patients were included in the study. Concordance with RAPID ranged from good (method B: ICC 0.780; method C: ICC 0.852) to excellent (CT perfusion 4D: ICC 0.950; method A: ICC 0.954). The limits of agreement (-32.3, 41.8 mL) were the narrowest with method A. For detecting core volumes ≤ 70 ml, method A and CT perfusion 4D showed almost perfect concordance with RAPID (CT perfusion 4D, kappa=0.87; method A, kappa=0.87), whereas methods B and C showed substantial concordance with RAPID (method B, kappa=0.77; method C, kappa =0.73). Thirty-two patients had good reperfusion after MT. RAPID showed the highest accuracy for predicting FIV, followed by method A.

Conclusion: CT perfusion 4D and Vue PACS method A showed excellent concordance with RAPID for quantifying ischemic core volume, which can be considered as alternatives in selecting patients for MT in clinical practice.

Keywords: Acute ischemic stroke; CT perfusion; Ischemic core volume; Post-processing software.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Cerebrovascular Circulation*
  • Clinical Decision-Making
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Ischemic Stroke / diagnostic imaging*
  • Ischemic Stroke / physiopathology
  • Ischemic Stroke / therapy
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Perfusion Imaging*
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Software*
  • Thrombectomy
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed*
  • Treatment Outcome