BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although infective endocarditis (IE) and nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis (NBTE) are associated with cardioembolic stroke, differences in the nature of these conditions may result in differences in associated stroke patterns. We compared patterns of acute and recurrent ischemic stroke in IE and NBTE, using diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI). METHODS: Using ICD-9 diagnostic codes and medical record review, we identified 362 patients (387 episodes) with IE and 14 patients with NBTE. Thirty-five patients (with 27 episodes of IE, 9 NBTE) who underwent 36 initial and 29 follow-up DWI scans were selected for this study. DWI lesion size, number, and location were compared between groups and correlated with stroke syndromes and endocarditis features. RESULTS: DWI was abnormal in all but 2 patients. Four acute stroke patterns were identified: (1) single lesion, (2) territorial infarction, (3) disseminated punctate lesions, and (4) numerous small (<10 mm) and medium (10 to 30 mm) or large (>30 mm) lesions in multiple territories. All patients with NBTE exhibited pattern 4, whereas those with IE exhibited patterns 1, 2, 3, and 4 (6, 2, 8 and 9 episodes, respectively). Seventy-five percent of patients with pattern 3 exhibited the clinical syndrome of embolic encephalopathy. Vegetation size, valve, and organisms had no correlation with stroke patterns. CONCLUSION: DWI has utility in differentiating between IE and NBTE. Patients with NBTE uniformly have multiple, widely distributed, small and large strokes, whereas patients with IE exhibit a panoply of stroke patterns.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although infective endocarditis (IE) and nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis (NBTE) are associated with cardioembolic stroke, differences in the nature of these conditions may result in differences in associated stroke patterns. We compared patterns of acute and recurrent ischemic stroke in IE and NBTE, using diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI). METHODS: Using ICD-9 diagnostic codes and medical record review, we identified 362 patients (387 episodes) with IE and 14 patients with NBTE. Thirty-five patients (with 27 episodes of IE, 9 NBTE) who underwent 36 initial and 29 follow-up DWI scans were selected for this study. DWI lesion size, number, and location were compared between groups and correlated with stroke syndromes and endocarditis features. RESULTS: DWI was abnormal in all but 2 patients. Four acute stroke patterns were identified: (1) single lesion, (2) territorial infarction, (3) disseminated punctate lesions, and (4) numerous small (<10 mm) and medium (10 to 30 mm) or large (>30 mm) lesions in multiple territories. All patients with NBTE exhibited pattern 4, whereas those with IE exhibited patterns 1, 2, 3, and 4 (6, 2, 8 and 9 episodes, respectively). Seventy-five percent of patients with pattern 3 exhibited the clinical syndrome of embolic encephalopathy. Vegetation size, valve, and organisms had no correlation with stroke patterns. CONCLUSION: DWI has utility in differentiating between IE and NBTE. Patients with NBTE uniformly have multiple, widely distributed, small and large strokes, whereas patients with IE exhibit a panoply of stroke patterns.
Authors: Babak B Navi; Samuel Singer; Alexander E Merkler; Natalie T Cheng; Jacqueline B Stone; Hooman Kamel; Costantino Iadecola; Mitchell S V Elkind; Lisa M DeAngelis Journal: Neurology Date: 2014-05-21 Impact factor: 9.910
Authors: Mark Fisher; Kevin Kapur; Sylvia Soo; Yung Lyou; Steven S Schreiber; Michael J Kim Journal: J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis Date: 2018-02-01 Impact factor: 2.136
Authors: Oh Young Bang; Bruce Ovbiagele; David S Liebeskind; Lucas Restrepo; Sa Rah Yoon; Jeffrey L Saver Journal: J Neurol Date: 2009-04-27 Impact factor: 4.849