Carotid plaques and neurological impairment in patients with acute cerebral infarction.

Objective: To determine whether the coexistence of carotid atherosclerosis plaque affects the neurological function of cerebral infarction.

Methods: A total of 1078 patients with acute cerebral infarction were enrolled, all patients were divided into carotid plaque group (n = 702) and non-carotid plaque group (n = 376). Meanwhile, all patients were divided into mild group (n = 624) and moderate to severe group (n = 454). The difference of the incidence of carotid plaque between the mild and moderate to severe group was analyzed.

Results: In the 1078 patients with cerebral infarction, the NIHSS score in the carotid plaque group was significantly higher than that in the non-carotid plaque group (P<0.05). The number of mild cases without carotid artery plaque group was larger than that of plaque group (P<0.05), and the number of moderate to severe cases in carotid plaque group was larger than that in non-plaque group (P<0.05). In patients with carotid atherosclerotic plaque, the risk of moderate to severe cerebral infarction was 2.11 times higher than that without carotid artery plaque. Lastly, patients with single plaques were 1.82 times more likely to develop moderate to severe cerebral infarction than those without carotid plaque, while patients with multiple carotid plaques were 2.41 times higher to get moderate or severe cerebral infarction than those without carotid plaque.

Conclusions: The incidence of carotid atherosclerotic plaques may be related to neurological deficits in patients with acute cerebral infarction.