Cerebrovascular Diseases Extra最新文献

Background and purpose: Coronavirus disease 2019 (CO-VID-19) has an increased propensity for systemic hypercoagulability and thromboembolism. An association with cerebrovascular diseases, especially cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), has been reported among these patients. The objective of the present study was to identify risk factors for CVT as well as its presentation and outcome in COVID-19 patients.

Methods: This is a multicenter and multinational observational study. Ten centers in 4 countries (Pakistan, Egypt, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates) participated in this study. The study included patients (aged >18 years) with symptomatic CVT and recent COVID-19 infection.

Results: Twenty patients (70% men) were included. Their mean age was 42.4 years, with a male-to-female ratio of 2.3:1. Headache (85%) and seizures (65%) were the common presenting symptoms, with a mean admission Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 13. CVT was the presenting feature in 13 cases (65%), while 7 patients (35%) developed CVT while being treated for COVID-19 infection. Respiratory symptoms were absent in 45% of the patients. The most common imaging finding was infarction (65%), followed by hemorrhage (20%). The superior sagittal sinus (65%) was the most common site of thrombosis. Acute inflammatory markers were raised, including elevated serum D-dimer (87.5%), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (69%), and C-reactive protein (47%) levels. Homocysteine was elevated in half of the tested cases. The mortality rate was 20% (4 patients). A good functional outcome was seen in the surviving patients, with a mean modified Rankin Scale score at discharge of 1.3. Nine patients (45%) had a modified Rankin Scale score of 0-1 at discharge.

Conclusion: COVID-19-related CVT is more common among males at older ages when compared to previously reported non-COVID-19-related CVT cases. CVT should be suspected in COVID-19 patients presenting with headache or seizures. Mortality is high, but functional neurological outcome is good among survivors.

Background: Recent reports have suggested that atrial fibrillation (AF) is more prevalent in the large vessel occlusion (LVO) subgroup of acute ischaemic stroke patients. Given the association between left atrial enlargement (LAE) and AF, we sought to evaluate the feasibility of assessing LAE on non-gated CT and its association with LVO in the hyperacute stroke setting.

Methods: We analysed our prospectively collected database that included all stroke patients referred for consideration of endovascular treatment between April 14, 2020, and May 21, 2020. During this period, a CT chest was included in our regional stroke protocol to aid triage of patients suspected for COVID-19 from which cardiac measurements were obtained. Patients were dichotomized into LVO and no-LVO groups, and LA measurements were trichotomized into normal, borderline, and enlarged. Univariate analyses were performed between groups.

Results: Of the included 38 patients, 21 were categorized as LVO and 17 as no LVO. There was a statistically significant association between LAE and LVO (p = 0.028). No significant difference was demonstrated between groups for the baseline AF and other clinical characteristics, except for baseline NIHSS (p = 0.0005). There was excellent inter- and intra-rater reliability (ICC = 0.969) for LA measurements.

Conclusion: Our study provides preliminary data to suggest LAE is more prevalent in the LVO stroke subgroup at presentation and can be reliably assessed on non-gated CT in the hyperacute setting. These findings have potential implications for stratifying secondary management and may prompt a more rigorous pursuit of occult AF or other cardiac causes of stroke.

Background: Owing to the improvement in acute care, there has been an increase in the number of people surviving stroke and living with its impairments. Frailty is common in people with stroke and has a significant impact on the prognosis after stroke. To reduce frailty progression, potentially modifiable factors should be identified. Increasing levels of self-efficacy influence both behaviour and physical functioning, and therefore it could be a potential target to prevent frailty.

Methods: This is a prospective cohort study that involved the secondary analysis of the RISE data to examine the relationship between self-efficacy and frailty. The RISE study is a longitudinal study that consists of 200 adults aged 18+ years after their first stroke event. Data were collected from the respondents at 3 weeks, 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months after their discharge from the hospital. Frailty was assessed using the multidimensional frailty index with scores ranging from 0 to 1, and self-efficacy was assessed using the SESx scale, which was dichotomized as low/moderate or high. Frailty trajectories were examined using the repeated linear model. The generalized estimating equation was used to examine the relationship between self-efficacy and frailty at baseline and in the future (6-24 months). The B coefficients were reported at 95% CI before and after adjusting for potential confounders (age, gender, stroke severity, education, and social support).

Results: A total of 200 responses were analysed, and the mean age of the respondents was 67.78 ± 11.53. Females made up 64% of the sample, and the mean frailty score at baseline was 0.17 ± 0.09. After adjusting for confounders, respondents with low self-efficacy had an approximately 5% increase in their frailty scores at baseline and in the 24-month follow-up period compared to those with high self-efficacy.

Conclusion: The result from this study showed that self-efficacy was significantly associated with frailty after stroke. Our findings suggest that self-efficacy may play a role in frailty progression among stroke survivors.

Introduction: During exposure of the carotid arteries, embolism from the surgical site is recognized as a primary cause of neurological deficits or new cerebral ischemic lesions following carotid endarterectomy (CEA), and associations have been reported between histological neovascularization in the carotid plaque and both plaque vulnerability and the development of artery-to-artery embolism. Superb microvascular imaging (SMI) enables accurate visualization of neovessels in the carotid plaque without the use of intravenous contrast. This study aimed to determine whether preoperative SMI ultrasound for cervical carotid artery stenosis predicts the development of microembolic signals (MES) on transcranial Doppler (TCD) during exposure of the carotid arteries in CEA.

Methods: Preoperative cervical carotid artery SMI ultrasound followed by CEA under TCD monitoring of MES in the ipsilateral middle cerebral artery was conducted in 70 patients previously diagnosed with internal carotid artery stenosis (defined as ≥70%). First, observers visually identified intraplaque microvascular flow (IMVF) signals as moving enhancements located near the surface of the carotid plaque within the plaque on SMI ultrasonograms. Next, regions of interest (ROI) were manually placed at the identified IMVF signals (or at arbitrary places within the plaque when no IMVF signals were identified within the carotid plaque) and the carotid lumen, and time-intensity curves of the IMVF signal and lumen ROI were generated. Ten heartbeat cycles of both time-intensity curves were segmented into each heartbeat cycle based on gated electrocardiogram findings and averaged with respect to the IMVF signal and lumen ROI. The difference between the maximum and minimum intensities (ID) was calculated based on the averaged IMVF signal (IDIMVF) and lumen (IDl) curves. Finally, the ratio of IDIMVF to IDl was calculated.

Results: MES during exposure of the carotid arteries were detected in 17 patients (24%). The incidence of identification of IMVF signals was significantly greater in patients with MES (94%) than in those without (57%; p = 0.0067). The IDIMVF/IDl ratio was significantly greater in patients with MES (0.108 ± 0.120) than in those without (0.017 ± 0.042; p < 0.0001). The specificity and positive predictive value for the IDIMVF/IDl ratio for prediction of the development of MES were significantly higher than those for the identification of IMVF signals. Logistic regression analysis revealed that only the IDIMVF/IDl ratio was significantly associated with the development of MES (95% CI 101.1-3,628.9; p = 0.0048).

Conclusion: Preoperative cervical carotid artery SMI ultrasound predicts the development of MES on TCD during exposure of the carotid arteries in CEA.

Introduction: Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is usually performed on biplane (BP) angiosuites. When the BP angiosuite is not available, the single-plane (SP) angiosuite may be a substitute. However, the feasibility of MT performed on the SP angiosuite is yet to be elucidated. Therefore, we investigated the alternative effect of the SP angiosuite on the detailed division of procedure time, recanalization rate, and outcome in patients with anterior circulation infarction.

Methods: The subjects included 80 consecutive patients with anterior circulation infarction who underwent MT at our hospital between May 2015 and December 2020. Demographics and characteristics of the BP and SP groups were assessed and compared. The time from puncture to guiding catheter placement (P-G), time from guiding catheter placement to recanalization (G-R), and time from puncture to recanalization (P-R) were also extracted. A good outcome was defined as a modified Rankin scale score ≤2 at 3 months.

Results: Of the 80 patients, 67 and 13 were treated with BP and SP angiosuites, respectively. There were no differences in age, sex, complications, Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score at onset, occlusion site, rate of recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator administration, stroke subtype, recanalization rate, and complications between the 2 groups. The rate of a good outcome was not different between the 2 groups. P-G was significantly longer in the SP group than in the BP group, whereas there was no significant difference in G-R and P-R between the 2 groups (P-G: BP 29.9 ± 21.8 vs. SP 48.5 ± 43.6 min, p = 0.04).

Conclusion: MT performed on the SP angiosuite tended to prolong the time for guiding catheter placement. However, there was no difference in the overall procedure time, recanalization rate, or outcome between BP and SP angiosuites. Therefore, if the BP angiosuite is not available, the use of the SP angiosuite should be encouraged.

Indonesia is facing increasing stroke prevalence in the past 5 years. Ischemic stroke imposes economic and productivity burden if it is not addressed properly. Endovascular treatment studies are conducted in developed countries where facilities and cost do not count in therapy consideration if it is indicated. Developing countries like Indonesia should work hard to provide the best hyperacute stroke care with protocol deviation and limitation. This is the first review on endovascular treatment practice in a top single-center hospital in Indonesia. Further improvement is needed to catch up with state-of-the-art hyperacute ischemic stroke treatment.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the attack interval of multiple transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) is correlated with the underlying pathogenesis of ischemia.

Methods: Patients with multiple TIAs, defined as 2 or more motor deficits within 7 days, were studied. The attack interval between the last 2 episodes was classified into 3 groups: 2 episodes within an hour (Hour group), over hours within a day (Day group), and over days within a week (Week group). Patients with a lacunar syndrome, no cortical lesions, and no embolic sources were recognized as having a small vessel disease (SVD) etiology for their multiple events.

Results: Of 312 TIA patients admitted over a 9-year period, 50 (37 males, 13 females, mean 67.6 years) had multiple TIAs. Twelve patients were classified as being within the Hour group, 23 within the Day group, and 15 within the Week group. Lacunar syndromes were observed in 30 (75%, 35%, and 67%), embolic sources were detected in 28 (25%, 65%, and 67%), and a high signal lesion on diffusion-weighted imaging was depicted in 30 (75%, 48%, and 67%) patients (18 cortical, 11 subcortical, and one cerebellar). Patients in the Hour group had a significantly higher prevalence of SVD etiology (75%) than those in the Day and Week groups (30%, p = 0.0165; 27%, p = 0.0213, respectively). Four patients had a subsequent stroke within 7 days.

Conclusion: Attack intervals of multiple TIAs may be correlated with the underlying pathogenesis of ischemia. Two motor deficits within an hour are more likely to suggest a SVD etiology.

Introduction: The timing of treatment remains unresolved for patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) and headaches, particularly when the pain is short term, localized, and related to the aneurysm site. We lack evidence to support the notion that when a headache accompanies an aneurysm, it elevates the risk of rupture.

Results: We describe 2 cases of fatal subarachnoid hemorrhage in patients with a history of headache and known aneurysms. Both of these patients had good indications for treatment: a young age and an aneurysm >7 mm, and both were qualified for elective surgery. However, both patients died of fatal aneurysm ruptures before the planned surgery.

Conclusion: These cases suggested that treatment should be started as soon as possible, when a UIA is diagnosed based on a short-term period of severe headaches or when a UIA is observed and then severe headaches appear. There is no straightforward guideline for treatment timing in these patients. However, in this era of UIAs, the significance of sentinel headaches should be reevaluated. Given the incidence of headaches in the general population and the very low risk of aneurysm rupture, there may be a tendency to neglect the role of headache as a possible warning sign.

Increasing incidence of stroke and lack of infrastructure in both urban and rural areas needs immediate attention in Pakistan. There is a high proportion of young stroke with poor stroke outcomes. Acute stroke care is scarce in Pakistan due to the small number of neurologists (1 neurologist per 1 million population), few stroke units, and limited availability of alteplase (recombinant tissue plasminogen activator) in the country.

Background: The impact of gender on acute ischemic stroke, in terms of presentation, severity, etiology, and outcome, is increasingly getting recognized. Here, we analyzed the gender-related differences in etiology and outcome of ischemic stroke in South India.

Methods: Patients with first ever ischemic stroke within 1 week of onset presenting to the Comprehensive Stroke Care Centre, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, India, were included in our study. Clinical and risk factor profile was documented. The stroke severity was assessed using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at onset, and stroke subtype classification was done using Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Ischemic Stroke criteria. The 3-month functional outcome was assessed using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) with excellent outcome defined as an mRS ≤2.

Results: Of the 742 patients, 250 (33.7%) were females. The age, clinical profile, and rate of reperfusion therapies did not differ between the genders. Women suffered more severe strokes (mean NIHSS 9.5 vs. 8.4, p = 0.03). While large artery atherosclerosis was more common in men (21.3% vs. 14.8%, p = 0.03), cardioembolic strokes secondary to rheumatic heart disease were more common in women (27.2% vs. 19.7%, p = 0.02). Men had a better 3-month functional outcome compared to women (68.6% vs. 61.2%, p = 0.04), but was not statistically significant after adjusting for confounders.

Conclusion: Our data, from a single comprehensive stroke unit from South India, suggest that stroke in women are different, yet similar in many ways to men. Guideline-based treatment can result in comparable short-term outcomes, irrespective of admission stroke severity.