Cerebral autoregulation in patients with acute lacunar infarction: a reliable predictor of outcome.

Objective: To further investigate the association between dynamic cerebral autoregulation (dCA) and the outcomes in patients with acute lacunar infarction.

Methods: Patients were prospectively and consecutively enrolled at The First Hospital of Jilin University between 2016 and 2023. dCA was monitored at 1-3 and 7-10 days after the stroke. The outcomes were evaluated using a 3-month modified Rankin Scale score. Binary and ordered logistic regression were employed to analyze the relationship between dCA parameters and outcomes. dCA-based nomogram models were also developed to assess the predictive value of dCA for these patients.

Results: Overall, 332 patients were included in analysis. dCA showed no significant differences between bilateral cerebral hemispheres, as well as two measurement time points (all P > 0.05). Regression analyses showed that dCA at 1-3 and 7-10 days were independently associated with the outcomes of patients with acute lacunar infarction after adjusting for confounders (all P < 0.05). Incorporating dCA parameters into conventional risk factors enhanced the risk-predictive ability of a 3-month unfavorable outcome, significantly improving the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve from 0.798(95% confidence interval [CI], 0.748-0.848) to 0.829(95% CI, 0.783-0.875) (P = 0.046).

Interpretation: dCA remained consistent in bilateral cerebral hemispheres within acute and subacute periods among patients with lacunar infarction. It was independently associated with 3-month outcomes and could be regarded as a reliable predictor for discriminating outcome.