CT-DRAGON score predicts outcome after endovascular treatment in patients with acute ischemic stroke

Objective To investigate the predictive value of CT-DRAGON score for clinical outcomes after endovascular treatment in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods Patients with acute ischemic stroke underwent endovascular intervention in Xuzhou Central Hospital from May 2015 to June 2019 were enrolled retrospectively. CT-DRAGON score was performed before treatment, and the outcomes of patients were evaluated by the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at 3 months after treatment, and good outcome was defined as mRS0-2. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent factors for the outcomes. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the predictive value of CT-DRAGON score for clinical outcome. Results A total of 67 patients were enrolled. The age was 68.69±11.63 years. The median CT-DRAGON score was 5 (interquartile interval: 4-7), and the baseline NIHSS score was 17.45±5.19. Thirty-five patients (52.2%) had a good outcome and 32 (47.8%) had a poor outcome, of which 13 (19.4%) died. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that higher CT-DRAGON score was an independent predictor for poor outcome (odds ratio 1.997, 95% confidence interval 1.271-3.136; P=0.003). The ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve of CT-DRAGON score to clinical outcome was 0.808 (95% confidence interval 0.706-0.911; P<0.001). The optimal cutoff value was 5, the corresponding sensitivity was 65.6%, and the specificity was 80.0%. Conclusions Baseline CT-DRAGON score can effectively predict the clinical outcome of patients with acute ischemic stroke at 3 months after endovascular treatment. Key words: Stroke; Brain ischemia; Tomography, X-ray computed; Thrombectomy; Endovascular procedures; Stents; Thrombolytic therapy; Treatment outcome