Table 1.
CT versus MRI selection across clinical scenarios and time windows
| Clinical scenario #1: Patient is 65 years old Altered level of consciousness, aphasia, dense right hemiplegia with sensory deficit NIHSS of 21 | Clinical scenario #2: Patient is 65 years old Altered level of consciousness, aphasia, dense right hemiplegia with sensory deficit NIHSS of 21 with early improvement to 5 | Clinical scenario #3: Patient is 65 years old Facial weakness, mild limb weakness NIHSS of 5 | Clinical scenario #4: Patient is 65 years old Facial weakness, hemiparesis NIHSS of 10 | |||||||||
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| CT | MRI | CT and MRI | CT | MRI | CT and MRI | CT | MRI | CT and MRI | CT | MRI | CT and MRI | |
| 0–3 h | 71% (575) | 8% (65) | 21% (167) | 67% (170) | 10% (24) | 23% (58) | 65% (357) | 9% (52) | 26% (141) | 68% (166) | 9% (21) | 23% (55) |
| 6 h | 55% (387) | 19% (136) | 26% (184) | 55% (129) | 19% (45) | 25% (59) | 51% (197) | 24% (92) | 25% (99) | 54% (125) | 19% (45) | 27% (61) |
| 6-h post ET | 53% (173) | 21 % (68) | 26% (87) | 50% (53) | 25% (26) | 25% (27) | 45% (87) | 26% (51) | 29% (56) | 49% (51) | 25% (26) | 26% (29) |
| 10 h | 58% (133) | 18% (42) | 24% (56) | Scenario not surveyed at this time window | 58% (133) | 20% (45) | 22% (51) | 55% (128) | 19% (43) | 26% (60) | ||
| Wake-up | 43% (98) | 27% (62) | 30% (70) | Scenario not surveyed at this time window | 44% (100) | 27% (63) | 29% (66) | 41% (93) | 28% (63) | 31% (70) | ||
CT: Computed Tomography; MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging; NIHSS: National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale.