Assessment of the results of treatment of malignant middle cerebral artery infarction

Background. A vast ischemic lesion in cases of malignant middle cerebral artery infarction causes a massive edema of the affected cerebral hemisphere, which leads to development of the dislocation syndrome and, in most cases, death. Decompressive hemicraniectomy is a more effective method for treatment of malignant ischemic infarction, than conservative therapy.Aim. Evaluation of the effectiveness of treatment of malignant middle cerebral artery infarction.Materials and methods. Analysis was carried out of the case histories of 57 patients with malignant middle cerebral artery infarction, out of which number 64.9 % were women and 35.1 % were men. The patients’ ages varied from 49 to 90 years, with the average of 72.7 year. All patients were divided into two groups: Group 1 patients (n = 47, 82.5 %) received only conservative therapy, while Group 2 patients (n = 10, 17.5 %) were subjected to surgical treatment.Results. The in-hospital stay of Group 1 patients varied from 2 to 73 days (the mean stay being 14.4 ± 1.8 days). Lethality in the conservative therapy patients was 46.8 % during the in-hospital stay varying from 2 to 21 days, with the average of 7.7 ± 1.7 days. Based on the postmortem examination, dislocation syndrome and its consequences were the cause of death in 90.9 % of the patients, who received in-hospital conservative therapy.The in-hospital stay of Group 2 patients varied from 22 to 33 days, with the average of 19.6 ± 4.3 days. The postoperative mortality was 40 %. The postmortem examination showed that the cause of the deaths was exacerbation of the dislocation syndrome and its consequences.Conclusion. Malignant ischemic syndrome in the territory supplied by the middle cerebral artery is the most severe form of ischemic infarction accompanied by constant disability of patients. Despite decompressive hemicraniectomy, lethality for the patients with malignant ischemic syndrome remains high, the principal cause being development of the dislocation syndrome.