Cerebellar Infarction Clinical and Neuroimaging Analysis in 293 Patients

Background and Purpose: We performed this multicenter study to explore the full spectrum of the clinical characteristics and neuroimaging findings of cerebellar infarction, including patients with mild to severe illnesses. Methods: We studied 293 consecutive patients with cerebellar infarction diagnosed by computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging who were admitted to 36 hospitals during 5 years. Results: Cerebellar infarcts constituted 2.3% of the total patients with acute brain infarction. The backgrounds and risk factors were similar to those in patients with infarctions of the cerebral hemispheres. At least 24% were embolic, and the diagnosis of embolism could not be ruled out in 27%. Infarcts involving the superior cerebellar artery (SCA) region (52%) and the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) region (49%) were far more frequent than those involving the anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) region (20%o). Patients with SCA infarcts exhibited obtunded consciousness and ataxia