Lea Alhilali, MD Profile picture
Feb 13, 2023 12 tweets 6 min read Read on X
1/Do you know all the aspects of, well, ASPECTS?

Many know the anterior circulation #stroke scoring system—but posterior circulation (pc) ASPECTS is often unknown

Here’s a #tweetorial to help you remember pc-ASPECTS
#medtwitter #neurotwitter #meded #neurorad #neurology #FOAMed Image
2/Many know anterior circulation ASPECTS. It uses a 10 point scoring system to semi-quantitate the amount of the MCA territory infarcted on non-contrast head CT.

If you need a review: here’s my tweetorial on ASPECTS: Image
3/But it’s only useful for the anterior circulation. Posterior circulation accounts for ~25% of infarcts. Even w/recanalization, many of these pts do poorly bc of the extent of already infarcted tissue. So there’s a need to quantitate the amount of infarcted tissue in these pts Image
4/Posterior circulation ASPECTS, or pc-ASPECTS for short, is also a 10 point system—but for the vertebrobasilar circulation. Patients get points for each region NOT infarcted on the initial CT. Image
5/Similar to anterior ASPECTS, points are GOOD

It’s like a city—when a region infarcts, it is like the lights go out in that city region (literally, tissue darkens on CT)

In ant & post ASPECTS, you are counting the regions where the lights are still on—so high ASPECTS is good Image
6/Which regions get scored?

The biggest prognostic factors in posterior strokes are time & amount of already infarcted tissue.

So my mnemonic to remember pc-ASPECTS regions is:

Time & Mortal Brain decide Posterior Circulation Outcomes
(mortal brain= infarcted brain) Image
7/How do you assign points?

It’s a little different than anterior ASPECTS, where every region just got one point

For pc-ASPECTS, think of it like a mother. She only has 2 arms. So if there are two kids, they have to split the arms—only one arm can be wrapped around each kid Image
8/So unpaired structures, like the brainstem, are like having only one kid—you get both arms wrapped around you = 2 arms = 2 points.

If the structures are paired, like the cerebellum, it’s like having two kids--they must split the arms. Each gets only 1 arm = 1 point Image
9/So lets go through our regions using the mnemonic.

Each thalmus is worth only 1 point, bc they’re paired & have to share their mother’s arms.

The unpaired midbrain is worth 2 points (gets both arms) Image
10/Pons is unpaired, so it is worth 2 points.

But the paired cerebellar hemispheres & occipital cortex are each only worth 1 point per side, as each side claims only one of the mother’s arms Image
11/While there’s evidence that higher pc-ASPECTS means poorer outcome, there’s no consensus about what pc-ASPECTS score definitively confers a UFO (unfavorable outcome).

But the consensus about what confers a UFO in anterior circulation ASPECTS may change soon as well! Image
12/So now you know the regions & scoring for pc-ASPECTS!

Remember, the anterior circulation isn’t the only aspect of ASPECTS! Image

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It also important for understanding dural arteriovenous fistulas as well. Image
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1/ Need a global perspective on dementia?

Do you know the global cortical atrophy (GCA) score for evaluating dementia patients—or are you still gestalting volume loss???

Don’t estimate when you can calculate!

Here’s a thread of what you need to know about the GCA score! Image
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1/Wish that your knowledge of autoimmune encephalitis was automatic?

Do you feel in limbo about limbic encephalitis?

Do you know the patterns?

Read on for what you need to know in this month's @RadioGraphics review!



@cookyscan1 @RadG_Editor doi.org/10.1148/rg.240…Image
@RadioGraphics @cookyscan1 @RadG_Editor 2/Two pearls:
(1) Most common pattern is limbic encephalitis
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You can remember the causes by the demographic:
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@RadioGraphics @cookyscan1 @RadG_Editor 3/Limbic encephalitis is the most common pattern

But it has many, many different causes

Remember--limbic involvement is shaped like a question mark!

So for limbic encephalitis, the cause remains a question bc differential is so broad

Must question & clinically correlate! Image
Read 8 tweets
Apr 2
1/One important aspect to stroke care is well, ASPECTS.

It’s a simple score system—but it’s important to understand all aspects!

Read on for the latest research on ASPECTS in this month’s @theAJNR SCANtastic!

ajnr.org/content/46/3/5…Image
2/ASPECTS stands for “Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score.”

It’s meant to replace gestalt-ing what percent of the MCA territory is infarcted.

Instead, it uses a 10-pt score to semi-quantitate the infarcted tissue in the MCA territory on non-contrast head CT Image
3/You can think of it as a score card for the MCA.

For each region of MCA territory NOT infarcted, the pt gets one point—for a highest score of 10, and lowest score of 0 Image
Read 18 tweets

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