Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
-
Review Historical Article
Outcomes validity and reliability of the modified Rankin scale: implications for stroke clinical trials: a literature review and synthesis.
The modified Rankin scale (mRS), a clinician-reported measure of global disability, is widely applied for evaluating stroke patient outcomes and as an end point in randomized clinical trials. Extensive evidence on the validity of the mRS exists across a large but fragmented literature. As new treatments for acute ischemic stroke are submitted for agency approval, an appreciation of the mRS's attributes, specifically its relationship to other stroke evaluation scales, would be valuable for decision-makers to properly assess the impact of a new drug on treatment paradigms. The purpose of this report is to assemble and systematically assess the properties of the mRS to provide decision-makers with pertinent evaluative information. ⋯ Multiple types of evidence attest to the validity and reliability of the mRS. The reported data support the view that the mRS is a valuable instrument for assessing the impact of new stroke treatments.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Low-grade inflammation is a risk factor for clinical stroke events in addition to silent cerebral infarcts in Japanese older hypertensives: the Jichi Medical School ABPM Study, wave 1.
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), a marker of inflammation, is associated with atherosclerosis, hypertensive target organ damage, and cardiovascular events. In the general Japanese population, the level of hsCRP is reported to be lower than that in Western countries, and the relationships among hsCRP, silent cerebral infarcts (SCIs), and clinical stroke events in older Japanese hypertensives remain unclear. ⋯ High-sensitivity C-reactive protein is a risk factor for clinical stroke events in addition to silent cerebral infarcts in Japanese older hypertensives, indicating that the risk for clinical stroke events increases with preexisting hypertensive target organ damage in the brain and additionally with ongoing low-grade inflammation.
-
Comparative Study
Disparities in outcomes among patients with stroke associated with insurance status.
Despite well-documented discrepancies in many clinical conditions across insurance groups, limited research has examined insurance-related disparities for patients with stroke. This study examined the relationship between insurance status and hospital care for patients with stroke. ⋯ Policy should promote access to outpatient and preventive care for uninsured patients so risk factors such as hypertension can be detected and treated during early, asymptomatic stages. Further research is needed to evaluate the extent to which differences in outcomes are attributable to differences in severity level on admission.