BACKGROUND: Approximately 25% of ischemic stroke patients awaken with neurological deficits. In these patients, in whom the time from symptom onset is uncertain, brain imaging is a potential strategy to characterize the ischemia duration and the presence of salvageable brain tissue. METHODS: We prospectively evaluated consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke. CT angiography and CT perfusion (CTP) were performed in patients within 24 h of symptom onset. The patients were classified into 'known onset', 'indefinite onset but not on awakening' and 'wake-up stroke' groups. RESULTS: Of 676 patients evaluated, 420 had known-onset strokes, 131 wake-up strokes and 125 strokes with an indefinite time of symptom onset. Ischemic lesion volumes were higher in patients with indefinite-onset strokes (p = 0.04). The frequencies of CTP mismatch and of large-vessel intracranial occlusions were similar among the groups (p = 0.9 and p = 0.2, respectively). CONCLUSION: The considerable prevalence of CTP mismatch and of intracranial artery occlusions in our patients with wake-up strokes suggests that arterial and perfusion imaging might be particularly important in this population. Revised indications for thrombolysis by using imaging-based protocols might offer these patients the prospect of receiving acute stroke treatment even without a clear time of symptom onset.
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