Recurrence of cervical artery dissection: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background and purpose: Cervical artery dissection (CAD) involving the carotid or vertebral arteries is an important cause of stroke in younger patients. The purpose of this systematic review is to assess the risk of recurrent CAD.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted on studies in which patients experienced radiographically confirmed dissections involving an extracranial segment of the carotid or vertebral artery and in whom CAD recurrence rates were reported.

Results: Data were extracted from 29 eligible studies (n = 5898 patients). Analysis of outcomes was performed by pooling incidence rates with random effects models weighting by inverse of variance. The incidence of recurrent CAD was 4% overall (95% confidence interval (CI) = 3-7%), 2% at 1 month (95% CI = 1-5%), and 7% at 1 year in studies with sufficient follow-up (95% CI = 4-13%). The incidence of recurrence associated with ischemic events was 2% (95% CI = 1-3%).

Conclusions: We found low rates of recurrent CAD and even lower rates of recurrence associated with ischemia. Further patient-level data and clinical subgroup analyses would improve the ability to provide patient-level risk stratification.