Relationship between artery stenosis and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scoring in patients with acute cerebral infarction

Objective To approach the relationships between National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale(NIHSS)scoring and cerebral artery stenosis.Methods A total of 66 patients with acute cerebral infarction underwent DSA within 48hr of stroke onset.Baseline NIHSS score was assessed before DSA.According to the stenosis presence,patients were divided into stenosis group(n=38)and non-stenosis group(n=28).In stenosis group,patients were divided into four groups according to site of arterial stenosis:(1)the internal carotid artery(ICA group,n=18);(2)stem of the middle cerebral artery or the anterior cerebral artery(Stem group;n=8);(3)branches of middle cerebral artery or the anterior cerebral artery(Branch group;n=7);(4)vertebral basilar artery(VA-BA group;n=5).Results The mean NIHSS score was higher in the stenosis group than in the non-stenosis group.NIHSS score was higher in the ICA group than in the Branch group(P=0.004)or VA-BA group(P0.01)but was not higher than the Stem group.NIHSS score was higher in the Branch group than in the VA-BA group(P=0.02).ROC curve analysis suggested that NIHSS score of 8 represented a good cut-off point for discriminating patients with arterial stenosis from those without.Conclusion NIHSS score is related to the site and the degree of cerebral artery stenosis in patients with acute cerebral infarction.NIHSS score≥8 can be an indication for cerebral artery stenosis.