The effect of middle cerebral artery pulsatility index on cognitive impairment in post-ischemic stroke patient: A case–control study

Objectives: Clinical manifestation of cerebrovascular diseases such as stroke can occur as a cognitive impairment. Complete examination, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is mandatory for the diagnosis of cognitive impairment in stroke patients. In Indonesia, access to MRI examination is still very limited; thus, an alternative examination is necessary. Transcranial Doppler (TCD) examination is a non-invasive modality to assess intracranial vessels. Many studies have stated that intracranial peripheral resistance strongly correlates with cognitive decline. This study intended to measure the effect of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) pulsatility index (PI) measured by TCD in post-stroke patients with cognitive impairment. Materials and Methods: An observational analytic study with an unmatched case–control design to measure the odds ratio (OR) was performed from January 2022 to April 2022 in Moehammad Hoesin General Hospital, Palembang, in post-ischemic stroke patients. Results: About 79.3% ( P = 0.015) of patients were recorded with high PI. Statistically, there is a relationship between high MCA PI and cognitive impairment, and according to the (OR) measurement, the value was 4.718, with a confidence interval of 1.481–15.032. Conclusion: MCA PI has a relationship to post-ischemic stroke cognitive impairment and age and dyslipidemia may serve as confounding factors for cognitive impairment.