Objective To investigate the incidence rate and location of rotational vertebral artery occlusion syndrome and its association with the symptoms of posterior circulation ischemia， the lesions of posterior circulation infarction， and newly-onset posterior circulation stroke. Methods A total of 283 patients who met the criteria were included， and the patients with positive results of neck rotation test and those with negative results were compared in terms of symptoms， imaging findings， and newly-onset posterior circulation stroke during follow-up. The chi-square test or the Fisher’s exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups， with P<0.05 indicating statistical significance. Results Among the 283 patients enrolled， 23 （8.13%） met the diagnostic criteria for rotational vertebral artery occlusion syndrome. There was no significant difference in posterior circulation ischemic symptoms between the positive group and the negative group （P=0.089）， and compared with the negative group， the positive group had significantly higher numbers of posterior circulation infarcts at baseline and newly-onset cases of posterior circulation stroke during follow-up （P=0.010 and 0.009）. Conclusion Rotational vertebral artery occlusion syndrome significantly increases the risk of posterior circulation infarction.
Stroke