Background: Cervicocephalic arterial dissection is the loss of integrity of the arterial wall. It is the main cause of stroke in young people identified in industrialized countries, being responsible for approximately 2% of all strokes and 20% in the age group under 45 years, being an important condition to incapacity for adjusted life years. Objective: To describe clinical-epidemiological characteristics, in addition to exploring the functional outcome after 90 days of patients diagnosed with cervicocephalic arterial dissection. Methods: Observational, descriptive study, based on the review of patient records from the reference tertiary hospital in the State of Pernambuco and referenced health regions, Brazil, between January 2013 and January 2023. Results: In this retrospective collection of 10 years in reference hospital, the total number of patients was 73. The average age is 47.6±14.1 years. The absence of comorbidities was present in 40% of patients. There was greater trauma exposure in younger people when compared to patients without associated trauma (40.3±15.4 vs 49.9±11.9 years, p=0.035). There was a significant predominance of patients with a favorable functional outcome after 90 days with posterior circulation involvement compared to an unfavorable outcome (91% vs 42.9%, p=0.003). It was also observed that patients with unfavorable scores were admitted with lower Glasgow Coma Scale scores, more bleeding, as well as longer hospital stays, but all variables were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Younger patients were associated with a precipitating factor when compared to older patients, being a critical condition for greater loss of years of life due to disability. Posterior circulation strokes have an apparent better outcome compared to anterior circulation, questioning the choice of tool to assess functionality.
Filho et al. (2024) studied this question.