Opercular index score: A novel approach for determining clinical outcomes in stroke

A new study presented at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery's (SNIS) 13th Annual Meeting in Boston found that the Opercular Score Index (OIS) is a practical, noninvasive scoring system that can be used to predict the strength and health of the vascular network in the brain (known as collateral robustness) and good clinical outcome among stroke patients undergoing endovascular recanalization.

Assessment of collaterals is imperative in selecting patients for endovascular reperfusion therapy, which can include both pharmacological and mechanical procedures. The purpose of this feasibility study was to evaluate the correlation between a CTA based collateral scoring system, the OIS, with neurological outcomes at 90 days following endovascular treatment of acute ischemic stroke for large vessel occlusion.

"The Opercular Index Score is a potentially useful method and supplement to CT Perfusion imaging in telling us which patients may benefit most from invasive stroke treatment," said Dr. Alexander Copelan, a diagnostic radiology resident at Beaumont Health System in Royal Oak, Michigan, and the study's principal investigator and lead author. "Among the main advantages are its simplicity and ease in calculation based on readily available CT data without having to scan and inject the patient with intravenous contrast a second time."

Nearly 130,000 people in the U.S. die from stroke each year. The vast majority of strokes—87 percent— are ischemic strokes, caused by a blocked artery in the brain.