CARBON-DIOXIDE REACTIVITY AND PATTERNS OF CEREBRAL INFARCTION IN PATIENTS WITH CAROTID-ARTERY OCCLUSION

A total of 106 patients with 112 internal carotid artery occlusions were investigated by cranial computed tomography and transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (CO2 test), giving a measure of the cerebrovascular reserve capacity. The morphological patterns of the ischaemic lesions were classified into three categories: lacunar, thromboembolic and haemodynamic infarctions. Of 29 patients with an exhausted CO2 reactivity, 19 showed a haemodynamic type of infarction, whereas of 45 cases with a normal CO2 reactivity only 2, and of 38 patients with a diminished CO2 reactivity only 3 had haemodynamically caused infarctions (P < 0.001). The correlation between an exhausted CO2 reactivity and the presence of haemodynamic infarctions could be of value for therapy in patients with carotid artery occlusions.