To investigate the associations between small diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) hyperintensities lesions and total cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) burden and the influence on prognosis in patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).

Consecutive patients with acute spontaneous ICH from January 2018 to June 2021 were recruited in the Stroke Center of Zhengzhou People′s Hospital. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed to quantify DWI hyperintensities lesions and cSVD imaging markers, including white matter hyperintensities, enlarged perivascular spaces, lacunes and cerebral microbleeds, which were calculated for the total cSVD burden (0-4 points). The prognosis was assessed with the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at discharge and 90-day. Multivariable Logistic regression models were adopted to explore the associations between DWI lesions and total cSVD burden and clinical outcome.

Of 283 included patients, 59 (20.8%) had small DWI lesions, 32 (11.3%) had multiple lesions. They were mostly punctate, mainly located in the cortical and subcortical regions, and scattered in multiple vascular territories. With the increase of cSVD burden, the number of DWI lesions gradually increased. Spearman correlation analysis showed that the total cSVD burden was positively correlated with the number of DWI lesions (r=0.21, P<0.001). In multivariable regression analyses, the total cSVD burden was independently associated with DWI lesions (OR=1.63, 95%CI 1.23-2.15, P=0.001). The 90-day poor outcome (mRS scores≥4) in patients with DWI lesions was significantly higher than those without DWI lesions (39.3% vs 16.3%, χ²=14.38, P<0.001), while there was no statistically significant difference in the poor outcome of discharge between the two groups (26.5%vs 17.7%, χ²=3.06, P=0.080). With the increase in the number of DWI lesions, the 90-day poor outcome increased significantly (trend chi-squared test χ²=11.50, P=0.001). Multivariable analyses showed that DWI lesions (OR=4.39, 95%CI 1.92-10.03, P<0.001) and their number (OR=1.42, 95%CI 1.06-1.90, P=0.018) were independently associated with the 90-day poor outcome.

Higher total cSVD burden is an independent risk factor for small DWI lesions in patients with ICH. Small DWI lesions were independently associated with the 90-day poor outcome, but not with the discharge outcome.

Cerebral hemorrhage; Cerebral small vessel disease; Diffusion-weighted imaging; Prognosis