Clinicoradiological application of the use of spectral cranial computed tomography in the management of acute ischemic stroke after mechanical thrombectomy.

Introduction: Acute ischemic stroke is one of the leading global causes of morbidity and mortality. Mechanical thrombectomy has improved the functional prognosis of this condition; however, hemorrhagic transformation is a common complication. Spectral computed tomography (CT) imaging, as a neuroimaging control test, distinguishes contrast extravasation from hemorrhagic transformation due to the differential behavior of materials at dual energy levels. This distinction is valuable in its clinical therapeutic management.

Material and methods: A single-center, observational, retrospective study was conducted in which the presence of various clinical, radiological, and therapeutic variables in patients with acute ischemic stroke treated with mechanical thrombectomy at our hospital between July 2022 and March 2023 was investigated using access to a dissociated database and medical records.

Results: Out of 155 included patients, spectral cranial CT was performed in 63, and conventional cranial CT in 75. In the spectral CT group, 21 hyperdense images were detected, compared to 28 in the conventional CT group. In 42.8% of cases where hyperdensity was detected in the conventional CT group, it was not possible to distinguish between contrast extravasation and hemorrhagic transformation, in contrast to the 4.8% in the spectral CT group (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Spectral CT provides high diagnostic confidence to the radiologist in identifying the type of detected hyperdensity, thereby offering significant therapeutic confidence to the neurologist in early resuming anticoagulation therapy.