A paper published in Radiology reports that CT angiography in patients with acute minor strokes was found to be beneficial in patients who are candidates for thrombectomy.
The searchers stated that while minor strokes represent up to two-thirds of all cases of acute ischemic strokes, it's unknown whether CT angiography (CTA) to evaluate large-vessel occlusion in patients with minor stroke is cost-effective.
Large vessel occlusion is present in around 18% of patients with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores of 0-4 and 39% of patients with NIHSS scores of 5-8, but the authors said CTA is only recommended as a cost effective study to triage patients with acute minor stroke and find potential candidates for mechanical thrombectomy.
The authors concluded that screening for large vessel occlusion with CTA in patients with acute minor stroke is cost effective and is associated with better outcome .
