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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Mar 10
1/I always say you can tell a bad read on a spine MR if it doesn’t talk about lateral recesses.

What will I think when I see your read? Do you rate lateral recess stenosis?

Here’s a thread on lateral recess anatomy & a grading system for lateral recess stenosis Image
2/First anatomy.

Thecal sac is like a highway, carrying the nerve roots down the lumbar spine.

Lateral recess is part of the lateral lumbar canal, which is essentially the exit for spinal nerve roots to get off the thecal sac highway & head out into the rest of the body Image
3/Exits have 3 main parts.

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Mar 3
1/Does PTERYGOPALATINE FOSSA anatomy feel as confusing as its spelling?

Does it seem to have as many openings as letters in its name?

Are you pterrified of the pterygopalatine fossa (PPF)?

Let this thread on PPF anatomy help you out. Image
2/The PPF is a crossroads between the skullbase & the extracranial head and neck

There are 4 main regions that meet here:

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3/At its most basic, you can think of the PPF as a room with 4 doors opening to each of these regions: one posteriorly to the skullbase, one medially to the nasal cavity, one laterally to the infratemporal fossa, and one anteriorly to the orbit Image
Read 18 tweets
Feb 28
1/Feel like a fish out of water when it comes to water on the brain?

Read on for this month’s @Radiographics summary of what you need to know about hydrocephalus!!



@cookyscan1 @RadG_editor #RGphx doi.org/10.1148/rg.240…Image
2/To understand hydrocephalus, think of CSF like the flow of traffic

3 main ways traffic backs up:

(1) Obstruction on the road:
For hydrocephalus, this is an obstruction along CSF in the ventricle Image
3/

(2) Obstruction of an off ramp
For hydrocephalus=obstruction at its off ramp into the venous system

(3) Rush hour
For hydrocephalus=over production Image
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Feb 27
1/Do scans for dizziness make your head spin?

Need to know what to look for?

Just hear me out!

This month’s @theAJNR SCANtastic will show what to look for:

ajnr.org/content/46/2/3…Image
2/I always remember the rhyme of the big three for dizz-ee!

First, are vestibular schwannomas

These give an ice cream cone shape in the internal auditory canal! So scoop up that finding! Image
3/Next is labyrinthitis

Labyrinthitis can look like night & day, depending on the timing

Late labyrinthitis is dark—loss of bright fluid signal on FIESTA

Early labyrinthitis is bright—enhances on post-contrast Image
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Feb 26
1/Time is brain! But what time is it?

If you don’t know the time of stroke onset, are you able to deduce it from imaging?

Here’s a thread to help you date a stroke on MRI! Image
2/Strokes evolve, or grow old, the same way people evolve or grow old

The appearance of stroke on imaging mirrors the life stages of a person—you just have to change days for a stroke into years for a person

So 15 day old stroke has features of a 15 year old person, etc. Image
3/Initially (less than 4-6 hrs), the only finding is restriction (brightness) on diffusion imaging (DWI)

You can remember this bc in the first few months, a baby does nothing but be swaddled or restricted

So early/newly born stroke is like a baby, only restricted Image
Read 10 tweets
Feb 25
1/My hardest thread yet! Are you up for the challenge?

How stroke perfusion imaging works!

Ever wonder why it’s Tmax & not Tmin?

Do you not question & let RAPID read the perfusion for you? Not anymore! Image
2/Perfusion imaging is based on one principle: When you inject CT or MR intravenous contrast, the contrast flows w/blood & so contrast can be a surrogate marker for blood.

This is key, b/c we can track contrast—it changes CT density or MR signal so we can see where it goes. Image
3/So if we can track how contrast gets to the tissue (by changes in CT density or MR signal), then we can approximate how BLOOD is getting to the tissue.

And how much blood is getting to the tissue is what perfusion imaging is all about. Image
Read 18 tweets

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