Progressive ischemic stroke is one of the major diseases damaging the health of Chinese people. Its pathogenesis is complex and there are many influencing factors, but the treatment methods are limited. In recent years, the rapid development of neuroimaging and the results of various clinical trials have been reported in succession, which have made new progress in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of progressive ischemic stroke. This paper summarizes the progress of progressive ischemic stroke, introduces its pathogenesis (including increased intracranial pressure and reduced perfusion pressure, thrombosis progression, hemorrhagic transformation, cerebral edema, and inflammatory response), influencing factors, predictive indicators (including image indicators, biochemical indicators, and molecular biology indicators) and treatment (including admission to “stroke unit”, intravascular treatment, platelet aggregation inhibition treatment, anticoagulation treatment, and general treatment), to provide references for preventing the occurrence and development of progressive ischemic stroke, assessing the condition, guiding treatment and improving the prognosis.
Acute ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke. Hemorrhagic transformation is one of its serious complications, which may lead to severe neurological deterioration and poor prognosis. The occurrence of hemorrhagic transformation is mainly related to the inflammatory mechanism after infarction, blood-brain barrier injury, ischemia-reperfusion injury and abnormal coagulation function. Identification of early predictors of hemorrhagic transformation can help reduce its incidence and severity. However, the mechanism of hemorrhagic transformation is complex, and there is currently no unified standard for its prediction. This article aims to review the related mechanisms and early predictors of hemorrhagic transformation after stroke, in order to provide a reference for early identification and prevention.
Objective To analyze the influencing factors of hemorrhagic transformation (HT) after intravenous thrombolysis with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Methods AIS patients hospitalized in the Department of Neurology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University between June 2017 and June 2020 and receiving rt-PA intravenous thrombolysis were selected. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether they had HT, HT group and non-HT group. General data such as patient’s age, sex, past history, score of National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) before thrombolysis, and related biochemical examination indicators were collected, to analyze the difference between the patients with HT or not, and analyze the related factors affecting the HT of AIS patients after intravenous thrombolysis. Results A total of patients 323 were included. Among them, 46 cases (14.2%) had HT, and 277 cases (85.8%) had no-HT. Except for serum free triiodothyronine (FT3), atrial fibrillation, hypertension, cerebral infarction area, NIHSS score before thrombolysis, uric acid, blood glucose before thrombolysis, white blood cell count, albumin level, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase / alanine aminotransferase and C-reactive protein (P<0.05), there was no significant difference in other indexes between the two groups (P>0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that NIHSS score≥13 before thrombolysis, aspartate aminotransferase / alanine aminotransferase, blood glucose before thrombolysis≥12.74 mmol/L, low FT3 level, massive cerebral infarction, and atrial fibrillation were independent risk factors for HT after thrombolysis in AIS. Conclusions FT3 and aspartate aminotransferase / alanine aminotransferase levels may be good biomarkers for predicting HT after intravenous thrombolysis. For patients with reduced albumin and uric acid levels, supplementation of exogenous uric acid and albumin may help reduce the risk of HT after AIS thrombolysis.
Hemorrhagic transformation is one of the most serious complications after endovascular treatment in patients with acute ischemic stroke, which is closely related to neurological deterioration and poor functional prognosis. Therefore, early detection and treatment of hemorrhagic transformation are of great significance for improving patient prognosis. Brain CT, CT angiography, CT perfusion imaging, MRI, diffusion weighted imaging, and susceptibility weighted imaging are relatively commonly used imaging methods in clinical practice. Reasonable use of imaging methods can reduce the risk of hemorrhagic transformation and improve patient prognosis. This article reviews common imaging evaluation techniques for hemorrhagic transformation in clinical practice in order to provide ideas for clinical diagnosis and treatment.