Multiple acute cerebral infarcts on diffusion-weighted imaging and risk of recurrent stroke.

Multiple acute cerebral infarcts (MACIs) detected by diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) may indicate an unstable source of thromboembolism. The authors studied 119 consecutive acute ischemic stroke patients within 24 hours of onset with DWI. MACIs were present in 20 patients (16.8%). During the follow-up period, there were 15 recurrent strokes, 3 acute coronary syndromes, and 5 deaths. MACI was the only significant independent predictor for vascular events and death (odd ratio [OR]] = 4.34; p = 0.001) and stroke recurrence (OR = 5.93; p = 0.001).