Abstract: ObjectiveTo evaluate the value of National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) combined with CT angiography(CTA) to predict the clinical outcome of acute ischemic stroke patients at ultra-early stage.Methods70 patients with acute ischemic stroke underwent brain CTA within 6 hours from symptom onset and were divided into two groups according to NNIHSS score, and clinical outcome was compared between two groups.ResultsThere were 38 patients with arterial occlusion on CTA and 32 patients with normal CTA. The percentage of occlusion on CTA for patients presenting with more severe neurological deficits was higher than those patients with slight to moderate deficits. The patients with occlusion on CTA and presenting with more severe deficits had a poor clinical outcome (P<0.01). 78% of patients with normal angiograms had good outcome, only 44.7% patients with arterial occlusion had a good clinical outcome(P<0.05). Both CTA evidence of vessel occlusion and admission NIHSS score correlated with clinical outcome measured by discharge NIHSS score(r=0.25, P=0.04 and r=0.73, P=0.000 respectively). The sensitivity and specificity for predicting clinical outcome by using the NIHSS score alone was 56.65% and 85.29%, and positive predictive value (PPV+) was 80.00%. There was a sensitivity of 63.89%, a specificity of 73.53%, a PPV+ of 71.88% if CTA showed vessel obstruction. If NIHSS scores combined with CTA to predict clinical outcome, the result showed a sensitivity of 70.11%, a specificity of 91.18%, a PPV+ of 88.00%.ConclusionThose patients with vessel occlusion on CTA appear to have a worse clinical outcome. NIHSS combining with CTA may increase specificity for judging prognosis and guide treatment.

Key words: acute ischemic stroke, CT angiography, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale(NIHSS), arterial occlusion, outcome