Acetazolamide Test in Detecting Reduced Cerebral Perfusion Reserve and Predicting Long-term Prognosis in Patients with Internal Carotid Artery Occlusion

In a series of 32 patients with internal carotid artery occlusion, regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and regional cerebral vasoreactivity (rCVR) were measured by xenon-133 single photon emission computed tomography and the acetazolamide test. We evaluated its usefulness in detecting the reduced cerebral perfusion reserve and predicting long-term prognosis. All Type 1 patients (normal rCBF and rCVR) were medically treated and experienced no recurrent ischemic attack. Cerebral hemodynamics remained unchanged. Type 2, 3, and 4 patients underwent superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery double anastomosis, if they consented to surgery. All Type 2 (normal rCBF and reduced rCVR) and Type 3 (reduced rCBF and rCVR) patients, who underwent surgery, showed no further ischemic attacks, as well as long-term normalization of rCVR, although long-term rCBF normalization was obtained in only three of seven Type 3 patients. Cerebral hemodynamics remained unchanged in Type 4 patients after surgery. In follow-up periods, major completed stroke occurred in all 3 Type 2 and Type 3 patients who were medically treated. These results suggest that the acetazolamide test is valuable in assessing the cerebral perfusion reserve and predicting long-term prognosis in patients with internal carotid artery occlusion, although further long-term or randomized studies are needed.