Visible infarction on CT after stroke—what does it tell?

There are many predictors of functional outcome after stroke, among which consciousness level on admission, concentration of blood glucose, and radiological extent of the infarct or haematoma spring into mind. Not all infarcts are visible on CT, especially in the first few hours. In the paper by Wardlaw et al on 452–458,1 among 12 550 patients who were enrolled in the International Stroke Study (1991–96) only 50% had visible infarction, even up to 48 hours after stroke. Compared with patients without visible infarction, those who had were 25% more likely …