Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
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Individuals with stroke-like symptoms are recommended to receive rapid diagnostic evaluation. Emergency medical services (EMS) transport, compared with private modes, and hospital notification before arrival may reduce delays in evaluation. This study estimated associations between hospital arrival modes (EMS or private and with or without EMS prenotification) and times for completion and interpretation of initial brain imaging in patients with presumed stroke. ⋯ Patients with presumed stroke arriving to the hospital by EMS were more likely to receive brain imaging and have it interpreted by a physician in a timely manner than those arriving by private transport. Moreover, EMS arrivals with hospital prenotification experienced the most rapid evaluation.
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Multicenter Study
Local brain temperature reduction through intranasal cooling with the RhinoChill device: preliminary safety data in brain-injured patients.
Hypothermia is neuroprotectant but currently available cooling methods are laborious, invasive, and require whole-body cooling. There is a need for less invasive cooling of the brain. This study was conducted to assess the safety and efficacy of temperature reduction of the RhinoChill transnasal cooling device. ⋯ Intranasal cooling with the RhinoChill device appears safe and effectively lowers brain and core temperatures. Further study is warranted to assess the efficacy of hypothermia through intranasal cooling for brain-injured patients.
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Transient ischemic attack and minor stroke are associated with high ischemic recurrence in the first week. We prospectively studied the correlation between baseline diffusion/perfusion deficits and development of new ischemic lesions. ⋯ Early recurrence of stroke is much more likely in patients with larger baseline DWI and perfusion-weighted imaging lesions. MRI lesion "recurrence" appears to be related to completion of the natural history of the original cerebrovascular syndrome rather than de novo events in most patients.
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The aim of this study was to determine the cost-effectiveness of tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) treatment in the 3- to 4.5-hour time window after ischemic stroke. ⋯ The balance of costs and benefits favors treatment with intravenous tPA in the 3- to 4.5-hour time window. This supports, from a societal perspective, the use of tPA therapy in this treatment time window for acute ischemic stroke.
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Alberta Stroke Programme Early CT Score (ASPECTS) is a quantitative topographical score to evaluate early ischemic change in the middle cerebral arterial territory on CT as well as on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). The aim of the present study was to elucidate the relationship between CT-ASPECTS and DWI-ASPECTS for patients with hyperacute stroke and their associations with outcomes after recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator therapy based on a multicenter registry. ⋯ For patients with hyperacute stroke, DWI-ASPECTS scored approximately 1 point lower than CT-ASPECTS. Both CT-ASPECTS and DWI-ASPECTS were useful predictors of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage and independence at 3 months after recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator.