. 2021 Oct 8;6(3):I–XXXVIII. doi: 10.1177/23969873211042192

Table 13.

Summary of findings for PICO 18. Assessment of the prognostic utility of lesions on acute MR-brain imaging for predicting future diagnosis of post-stroke cognitive impairment or dementia.

Participants: Patients with acute stroke Prognostic factor: Acute stroke MR-brain imaging Timing of follow-up: At least 12 months from index stroke Settings: Acute stroke settings
Outcome	MRI abnormality	No of participants	Risk of bias	Quality of evidence (GRADE)
PSCI	White matter hyperintensity	Eight studies 1781 participants	High	Moderate
PSCI	Atrophy	Two studies 415 participants	High	Very low^a
PSCI	Lesion volume	Four studies 895 participants	High	Low^b
PSCI	Small vessel disease score	Three studies 925 participants	High	Low^b
PSCI	Cerebral microbleeds	Four studies 980 participants	High	Very low^a
PSCI	Perivascular spaces	Three studies 925 participants	High	Very low^a

^aDowngraded due to risk of bias; imprecision; publication bias and inconsistency.

^bDowngraded due to risk of bias and imprecision.

PSCI: post-stroke cognitive impairment.