The journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
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J R Coll Physicians Edinb · Jan 2015
Cranial ultrasound for the diagnosis of giant cell arteritis. A retrospective cohort study.
Establishing a diagnosis of giant cell arteritis, or indeed ruling it out, may be difficult. We describe an evaluation of temporal artery colour duplex ultrasound as first line investigation in patients with suspected giant cell arteritis. ⋯ A high positive and negative predictive value of arteritis on colour duplex ultrasound indicates that temporal artery biopsy may be unnecessary in suspected giant cell arteritis, particularly where clinical suspicion of giant cell arteritis is high or low.
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J R Coll Physicians Edinb · Jan 2015
Pre-hospital notification is associated with improved stroke thrombolysis timing.
Intravenous thrombolysis increases disability-free survival after acute ischaemic stroke in a time-dependent fashion. We aimed to determine whether pre-hospital notification, introduction of a CT scanner near to assessment site and introduction of out-of-hours thrombolysis services affect thrombolysis timing. Methods Timings related to thrombolysis were collected between May 2012 and June 2014 at a single hospital site; these included time to stroke physician assessment, time to cranial CT imaging and door to needle time. ⋯ The most common perceived timing delays were radiology-related (33%), the need to acutely lower blood pressure (15%) and obtaining consent (12%). Conclusion Pre-hospital notification is associated with earlier stroke physician review, CT imaging and delivery of thrombolysis. Referral to an out of hours thrombolysis service was not associated with additional delay.
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J R Coll Physicians Edinb · Jan 2015
Comparative StudyComparison of predictive scores of symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage after stroke thrombolysis in a single centre.
Symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage following thrombolysis for ischaemic stroke causes significant morbidity and mortality. This study assessed which of four risk scores (SEDAN, HAT, GRASPS and SITS) best predicts symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage. ⋯ The haemorrhage after thrombolysis score uses the least variables and has the best predictive value for symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage. Using predictive scores for clinical decision making depends on estimation of overall benefits as well as risk.