Prognostic Value of Optic Nerve Sheath Diameters after Acute Ischemic Stroke According to Slice Thickness on Computed Tomography

The optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) can predict intracranial pressure and outcomes in neurological disease, but it remains unclear whether a small ONSD can be accurately measured on routine CT images with a slice thickness of approximately 4–5 mm. We measured the ONSD and ONSD/eyeball transverse diameter (ETD) ratio on routine-slice (4 mm) and thin-slice (0.6–0.75 mm) brain CT images from initial scans of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. ONSD-related variables, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores, and age were compared between good (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] ≤ 2) and poor (mRS > 2) outcomes at discharge. Among 155 patients, 38 had poor outcomes. The thin-slice ONSD was different between outcome groups (p = 0.047), while the routine-slice ONSD showed no difference. The area under the curve (AUC) values for the ONSD and ONSD/ETD were 0.58 (95% CI, 0.49–0.66) and 0.58 (95% CI, 0.50–0.66) on the routine-slice CT, and 0.60 (95% CI, 0.52–0.68) and 0.62 (95% CI, 0.54–0.69) on the thin-slice CT. The thin-slice ONSD/ETD ratio correlated with initial NIHSS scores (r = 0.225, p = 0.005). After adjusting for NIHSS scores and age, ONSD-related variables were not associated with outcomes, and adding them to a model with NIHSS scores and age did not improve performance (all p-values > 0.05). Although ONSD measurements were not an independent outcome predictor, they correlated with stroke severity, and the thin-slice ONSD provided a slightly better prognostic performance than the routine-slice ONSD.