Intracranial Carotid Artery Calcification and Effect of Endovascular Stroke Treatment

Abstract

Background and Purpose- Previous studies suggest that intracranial carotid artery calcification (ICAC) volume might influence the clinical outcome of patients after endovascular treatment (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke. Importantly, ICAC can be subtyped into a medial or intimal pattern that may differentially influence the effect of EVT in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods- All 500 patients included in the MR CLEAN (Multicenter Randomized Clinical trial of Endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke in the Netherlands) were evaluated. Volume (mm³) and location pattern (tunica intima or tunica media) of ICAC could be determined on baseline noncontrast computed tomography in 344 patients. Functional outcome at 90 days was assessed with the modified Rankin Scale. Next, we investigated the association of ICAC volume and pattern with functional outcome using adjusted ordinal logistic regression models. Effect modification by EVT was assessed with an interaction term between treatment allocation and ICAC aspect. Results- We found evidence for treatment effect modification by ICAC pattern ( P interaction=0.04). Patients with predominantly medial calcification had better functional outcome with EVT than without this treatment (adjusted common odds ratio, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.23-4.39), but we observed no effect of EVT in patients with predominantly intimal calcifications (adjusted common odds ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.40-1.68). We did not find an association of ICAC volume with functional outcome (adjusted common odds ratio per unit increase ICAC volume 1.01 (95% CI, 0.89-1.13). Moreover, we found no evidence for effect modification by ICAC volume ( P interaction=0.61). Conclusions- The benefit of EVT in acute ischemic stroke patients with a medial calcification pattern is larger than the benefit in patients with an intimal calcification pattern. Clinical Trial Registration- URL: http://www.trialregister.nl . Unique identifier: NTR1804. URL: http://www.isrctn.com . Unique identifier: ISRCTN10888758.

Keywords: carotid arteries; stroke; thrombectomy; tomography; tunica media.

Figure 1.

Patterns of medial and intimal intracranial carotid artery calcification on noncontrast computed tomography (CT). Medial calcification pattern is identified as a thin, continuous, and almost circular calcification patterns in axial viewing plane (A; upper) and coronal viewing plane (A; lower). Intimal calcification pattern is identified as a thick, irregular, and noncircular calcification patterns in axial viewing plane (B; upper) and coronal viewing plane (B; lower).

Figure 2.

Distribution of modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores at 90 days in patients with no calcification, medial, or intimal calcification pattern of the intracranial carotid artery at symptomatic side of ischemic stroke. A significant difference in the distribution of scores between both groups was observed in patients with medial calcification pattern but not in patients with intimal calcification pattern and no calcification. Numbers in bars are absolute numbers.