Long-Term Prognosis of Patients with Large Subcortical Infarctions

AIM: We assessed the long-term prognosis of patients with large subcortical infarctions (LSCI). METHODS: We defined LSCI as lesions > or =15 mm confined to deep penetrating arteries without a cardioembolic or atherothrombotic source. Patients with acute ischemic strokes were consecutively registered and followed for 751 +/- 441 days. The clinical characteristics and long-term prognoses of patients with LSCI were compared to those of patients with lacunar (LACI), atherothrombotic (ATI) and cardioembolic infarctions (CEI). RESULTS: At discharge from the hospital, the proportion of good outcomes (modified Rankin Scale < or =2) for patients with LSCI (52.1%) was similar to that for ATIs (47.2%), but worse than that for LACIs (73.2%). After a 3-year follow-up period, the mortality rates from LSCI, LACIs, ATIs and CEIs were 8.4, 8.2, 22.3 and 41.1%, respectively; the recurrence rates were 9.3, 14.1, 16.6 and 23.8%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The short-term prognosis of functional outcomes for LSCI was worse than that for LACIs, but similar to acute-phase ATI outcomes. The long-term prognosis after a LSCI is good, and recurrence tends to be lower than for LACIs.