The early cerebral hemodynamic changes in mild traumatic brain injury - Voxel based morphometric study using perfusion CT scanned within 24 hours after injury -

Abstract

Objective<br/> Only a few studies have investigated the changes associated with cerebral perfusion in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Moreover, these studies were conducted on several cerebral lobes (frontal, temporal, and occipital) regardless of the differentiation between white and gray matter as regions of interest. The present study was conducted to test the hypothesis that cerebral hemodynamic change in mTBI patients could be detected early on perfusion computed tomography (pCT) by comparative voxel-wise mapping and to evaluate which network is mostly affected.<br/> <br/> Methods<br/> Admission pCT scans of 21 consecutive mTBI patients who visited our hospital between January 2017 and July 2017 were compared to scans from 15 normal controls. The image files were converted to an analyzable file format and then processed for spatial normalization with statistical parameter mapping (SPM) analysis. The pCT data of all patients with mTBI were then compared to those of normal controls. <br/> <br/> Results<br/> SPM analysis of pCT imaging from mTBI patients demonstrated significantly decreased cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the area involving mainly the left angular gyrus, the left supramarginal gyrus, and the area surrounding the cerebral white matter (p = 0.002