Diffusion weighted imaging and time in acute ischemic stroke, is there any relation?

Background and purpose Diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) is useful for patient selection during the first 6 hours after stroke onset. The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the time from stroke symptom onset and stroke volume assessed using DWI. Materials and methods We evaluated 203 patients with anterior circulation stroke who were admitted to Montpellier's Stroke Unit and for whom a DWI ASPECT score (DWI-ASPECTS) was obtained during the first 6 hours from symptom onset. Patients were classified according to the number of hours after the onset of symptoms that DWI was performed. Two experienced neuroradiologists independently calculated the DWI-ASPECTS, which was classified by the size of the stroke volume in three groups: 0–3, 4–6 and 7–10. Results No relationship was found between temporal groups and the DWI-ASPECTS. The number of patients who reached each of the 3 classified stroke volumes was not different between the temporal groups. Conclusion There is no correlation in our findings between the time of stroke symptom onset and the DWI-ASPECT score during the first 6 hours from stroke onset.