Abstract: Abstract: Objective　To investigate the predictive value of cervical-brain arterial stiffness in functional outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods　A retrospective analysis was performed on 226 patients admitted to our hospital for acute ischemic stroke from November 2016 to November 2018. The patients were divided into good prognosis groups based on the mRS score 3 months after discharge (mRS score ≤ 2 points, 153 cases) and poor prognosis group (mRS score> 2 points, 73 cases). Ultrasound transcranial Doppler blood flow analyzer was used to measure the carotid-cerebral pulse wave velocity (ccPWV) of patients, and the differences in stroke risk factors, clinical data and stroke types were compared between the two groups. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis were used for influential factors on patients prognosis. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the predictive value of ccPWV for poor prognosis of acute ischemic stroke. Results　The age, the proportion of risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, smoking and coronary heart disease), the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and ccPWV were lower in poor prognosis group than those at admission. In the poor prognosis group, the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05). The area under the ROC curve of ccPWV predicting the prognosis of patients with acute ischemic stroke was 0.881, the best cutoff value was 6.79 m/s, the sensitivity was 83.84%, and the specificity was 76.69%. The results of multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the NIHSS score was ≥6 points (OR=6.588, 95%CI: 2.197-15.342), ccPWV≥6.79 m/s (OR=2.638, 95%CI: 1.367-5.647), hypertension (OR=2.146, 95%CI: 1.079-3.254), diabetes (OR=2.014, 95%CI: 1.403-5.341), coronary heart disease (OR=5.349, 95%CI: 3.246-18.298), and age≥70 years (OR=2.341, 95%CI: 1.579-6.241) were independent risk factors for poor prognosis in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Conclusion　ccPWV≥6.79 m/s indicates poor prognosis in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Key words:  acute ischemic stroke, prognosis, pulse wave analysis, cervical-cerebral arterial stiffness, carotid-cerebral pulse wave velocity