CT perfusion cerebral blood volume does not always predict infarct core in acute ischemic stroke

We investigated the practical clinical utility of the CT perfusion (CTP) cerebral blood volume (CBV) parameter for differentiating salvageable from non-salvageable tissue in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Fifty-five patients with AIS were imaged within 6 h from onset using CTP. Admission CBV defect (CBVD) volume was outlined using previously established gray and white matter CBV thresholds for infarct core. Admission cerebral blood flow (CBF) hypoperfusion and CBF/CBV mismatch were visually evaluated. Truncation of the ischemic time–density curve (ITDC) and hypervolemia status at admission, recanalization at 24-h CT angiography, hemorrhagic transformation (HT) at 24 h and/or 7-day non-contrast CT (NCCT), final infarct volume as indicated by 3-month NCCT defect (NCCTD) and 3-month modified Rankin Score were determined. Patients with recanalization and no truncation had the highest correlation (R = 0.81) and regression slope (0.80) between CBVD and NCCTD. Regression slopes were close to zero for patients with admission hypervolemia with/without recanalization. Hypervolemia underestimated (p = 0.02), while recanalization and ITDC truncation overestimated (p = 0.03) the NCCTD. Among patients with confirmed recanalization at 24 h, 38 % patients had an admission CBF/CBV mismatch within normal appearing areas on respective NCCT. 83 % of these patients developed infarction in admission hypervolemic CBF/CBV mismatch tissue. A reduction in CBV is a valuable predictor of infarct core when the acquisition of ITDC data is complete and hypervolemia is absent within the tissue destined to infarct. Raised or normal CBV is not always indicative of salvageable tissue, contrary to the current definition of penumbra.