BACKGROUND: Intracranial atherosclerosis (ICAS) is associated with an increased risk of early recurrent ischemic stroke. We evaluated whether biomarkers of impaired distal perfusion—specifically, anterior circulation borderzone infarct, and hypoperfusion mismatch volume—were associated with recurrent ischemic stroke within 90 days. METHODS: The BIORISK ICAS (Biomarkers and Recurrence Risk in Symptomatic Intracranial Atherosclerosis) is a multicenter retrospective international study (35 sites) that included hospitalized patients with symptomatic ICAS (50%–99% luminal stenosis of the intracranial vertebral, basilar, distal internal carotid, or proximal middle cerebral artery) from January 2019 to June 2024. The primary outcome was recurrent ischemic stroke in the territory of the symptomatic artery within 90 days. In the primary analysis, the exposure was an acute anterior circulation borderzone infarct. In secondary analysis of the subset with presentation within 72 hours of last known normal and perfusion imaging completed, the exposure of interest was prespecified as hypoperfusion mismatch volume at T max (time to maximum) threshold of 6 seconds, dichotomized at the Youden index. We performed multivariable Cox regression to test associations between exposure variables and the outcome, adjusting for clinically relevant variables and those associated with the outcome ( P <0.1). RESULTS: Of 2050 patients with symptomatic ICAS, 1737 (84.7%) presented within 72 hours of symptom onset, among whom 509 (29.3%) underwent perfusion imaging. The primary analysis included 1891 patients; 174 (9.2%) patients had recurrent ischemic stroke in the symptomatic arterial territory. In adjusted Cox regression models, there was an association between anterior circulation borderzone infarct and recurrent ischemic stroke at 90 days (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.40 [95% CI, 1.02–1.93]). In the perfusion imaging analysis, hypoperfusion mismatch of ≥10 mL was associated with recurrent ischemic stroke (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.83 [95% CI, 1.03–3.28]). CONCLUSIONS: Biomarkers of impaired distal perfusion, anterior circulation borderzone infarct, and hypoperfusion mismatch were associated with increased risk of recurrent ischemic stroke. These findings support the use of perfusion imaging in ICAS as well as future trials investigating early reperfusion in high-risk patients with ICAS.
Abstract TP275: Impact of Insurance Status on Risk of Stroke Recurrence with Incident Cryptogenic Stroke: A secondary analysis of the CASPR study
Background: It is known that there are discrepancies between insurance status and access to care for a variety of health conditions. In addition, differences have been shown in initial in-hospital management of stroke as well as outcomes in the acute setting. We sought to examine the relationship between insurance status and risk of recurrent stroke, major bleeding or death following an incident cryptogenic stroke. Methods: Patients with cryptogenic stroke included in a multicenter (n=27 sites) retrospective observational cohort and complete insurance status were evaluated for a primary composite outcome of recurrent stroke, major bleeding, or death. Insurance providers were categorized by Private/Veterans Administration, Medicare, Other, and Medicaid/pending/None, with the primary carrier ranked in that order when multiple insurance carriers applied. Descriptive statistics and an adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression were used to associate the primary insurance provider with the composite outcome, and with each unique secondary outcome, adjusting for age, stroke severity, pre-stroke disability, atherosclerotic risk factors, and potential embolic sources (e.g., patent foramen ovale). Results: Of the 2201 patients, 2006 (91.1%) had reported insurance information and were followed for a median of 1.50 years (interquartile range [IQR 0.41 - 2.99y]). The majority of patients were primary Medicare beneficiaries (42.3%), followed by private insurance (36.7%), Medicaid/none (18.1%) and Other (2.9%). Although there were important differences in demographic and neurodiagnostic results across insurance groups, compared to Private/VA beneficiaries, beneficiaries for Medicaid/pending/none had a higher rate of the composite outcome in adjusted regression (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.35, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-1.69) which was driven largely by the higher rate of recurrent stroke (adjusted HR 1.33, 95%CI, 1.02-1.73) with no significant difference in rate of major bleeding or death (p>0.05 for both). Conclusions: Independent of age, race, pre-existing disability, and atherosclerotic risk factors, insurance status was independently predictive of recurrent stroke in this diverse cohort of cryptogenic stroke.