Neuroimaging features of cerebral air embolism: a matched case-control study.
Publication/Presentation Date
2-16-2026
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cerebral air embolism (CAE) is a rare but treatable cause of ischemic stroke. Clinically, CAE may be difficult to distinguish from stroke due to more typical thromboembolic causes, but accurate diagnosis is critical to initiate appropriate treatment. We aimed to define the imaging features of CAE by comparing MRI from patients with confirmed CAE to those in cardioembolic stroke due to atrial fibrillation (AF).
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a retrospective, matched case-control study, CAE cases from 2012-2023 were matched 1:2 by presenting NIHSS to control patients who had stroke due to AF and were not treated with thrombolytics or thrombectomy. MRIs were reviewed by a neuroradiologist blinded to group. The primary outcome was presence of pre-specified neuroimaging features on MRI.
RESULTS: Fourteen patients with stroke due to CAE (median age 61, 64% female, median NIHSS 12) and 28 controls with stroke due to AF (median age 81, 43% female, median NIHSS 12) were included. The predominant infarction topography in CAE patients was gyriform in 86%, punctate in 7%, and wedge-shaped in 7%, whereas in patients with stroke due to AF the predominant infarction topography was wedge-shaped in 71%, punctate in 18%, and gyriform in 11% (p< 0.001). CAE patients more often presented with multiple (93% versus 50%, p=0.007) and bilateral infarctions (79% versus 43%, p=0.05). Cortical borderzone involvement was more frequent in patients with CAE compared to those with AF (86% versus 25%, p< 0.001). The presence of both predominantly gyriform infarction topography and cortical borderzone involvement had a 76.6% sensitivity and 96.4% specificity for CAE.
CONCLUSIONS: CAE cause characteristic gyriform infarction patterns on MRI that are distinct from typical cardioembolic stroke. In addition, cortical borderzone predilection and multifocal infarctions were substantially more frequent in CAE. This constellation of findings, in the appropriate clinical context, should strongly suggest CAE as the mechanism of neurologic injury, and may facilitate timely identification of this uncommon but critical diagnosis.
ISSN
1936-959X
Published In/Presented At
Ullman, N. L., Sakai, Y., Flanigan, M., Balali, P., Alkhatib, S. G., Lambert, D., Song, J. W., Messé, S. R., & Cucchiara, B. L. (2026). Neuroimaging features of cerebral air embolism: a matched case-control study. AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology, ajnr.A9234. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.3174/ajnr.A9234
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences | Pediatrics
PubMedID
41698816
Department(s)
Department of Pediatrics
Document Type
Article