Study on the correlation between intracranial and extracranial artery stenosis in patients with ischemic stroke

Objective To determine whether there is correlation between intracranial and extracranial arterial stenosis in patients with ischemic stroke, and to understand the difference of the main risk factors between them. Methods One hundred and sixty-eight patients with symptomatic ischemic stroke were selected in order to analyze the correlation and risk factors of intracranial arterial stenosis and extracranial arterial stenosis. Results In the 168 cases, 123 patients (73.2%)were with abnormal artery (include intimal thickening) and 100 patients(59.5%) were diagnosed with artery stenosis, including 33 cases of intracranial artery stenosis, 48 cases of extracranial artery stenosis and 19 cases of intracranial and extracranial stenosis.The rate of extracranial artery stenosis (39.9%) was higher than that of intracranial artery stenosis (31.0%), but there was no significant difference between them (χ2=2.93, P=0.11). There was no definite correlation between them (χ2=0.35, P=0.61) and there were statistically significant differences in age and arterial pressure between patients with intracranial and mean extracranial artery stenosis (t=1.98, P=0.05; t=5.42, P 0.05). Conclusion Extracranial arterial stenosis may not predict the possibility of intracranial arterial stenosis, and extracranial arterial stenosis may be more likely to cause ischemic stroke. Key words: Ischemic stroke; Intracranial artery stenosis; Extracranial artery stenosis; CT angiography; Ultrasound