Two simple and rapid methods based on maximum diameter accurately estimate large lesion volumes in acute stroke

Background: We compared two simple and rapid diameter-based methods (ABC/2, od-value) in terms of their accuracy in predicting lesion volume >70 ml and >100 ml.

Methods: In 238 DWI images of ischemic stroke patients from the AXIS2 trial, maximum lesion diameter and corresponding maximum orthogonal diameter were measured. Estimation of infarct volume based on od-value and ABC/2 calculation was compared to volumetric assessments.

Results: Accuracy of od-value and ABC/2 was similar for >70 ml (92.0 vs. 87.4) and >100 ml (92.9 vs. 93.3). ABC/2 overestimated lesion volume by 29.9%, resulting in a lower specificity.

Conclusions: Od-value is a robust tool for patient selection in trials.