Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Moving beyond a single perfusion threshold to define penumbra: a novel probabilistic mismatch definition.
The mismatch lesion volumes defined by perfusion-weighted imaging exceeding diffusion-weighted imaging have been used as a marker of ischemic penumbral tissue. Defining the perfusion lesion by thresholding has shown promise as a practical tool; several positron emission tomography studies have indicated a more probabilistic relationship between perfusion and infarction. Here, we used a randomized controlled trial dataset of tissue-type plasminogen activator 3 to 6 hours after stroke to: (1) quantify the relationship between severity of hypoperfusion (measured by Tmax) and risk of infarction; (2) exploit this relationship to present a novel definition of mismatch based on infarct probabilities rather than dichotomies; and (3) examine the treatment response in the subgroup of patients with mismatch by the new definition. ⋯ Infarct risk and treatment effect increased with severity of perfusion abnormalities. This suggests that a severity-weighted mismatch definition may define penumbral tissue more accurately.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Factors influencing in-hospital delay in treatment with intravenous thrombolysis.
Shortening door-to-needle time (DNT) for the thrombolytic treatment of stroke can improve treatment efficacy by reducing onset-to-treatment time. The goal of our study was to explore the association between DNT and outcome and to identify factors influencing DNT to better understand why some patients are treated late. ⋯ Thrombolysis of patients with older age and mild or severe neurological deficit is delayed. The perception that there is sufficient time before the end of the thrombolytic window also delays treatment. It is necessary to improve adherence to guidelines and to treat patients sooner after arrival to hospital.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Predicting the risk of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage in ischemic stroke treated with intravenous alteplase: safe Implementation of Treatments in Stroke (SITS) symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage risk score.
Symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH) is a serious complication in patients with acute ischemic stroke treated with intravenous thrombolysis. We aimed to develop a clinical score that can easily be applied to predict the risk of SICH. ⋯ The SITS SICH risk score predicts large cerebral parenchymal hemorrhages associated with severe clinical deterioration. The score could aid clinicians to identify patients at high as well as low risk of SICH after intravenous alteplase.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Randomized trial of clazosentan in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage undergoing endovascular coiling.
Clazosentan, an endothelin receptor antagonist, has been shown to reduce vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). CONSCIOUS-3 assessed whether clazosentan reduced vasospasm-related morbidity and all-cause mortality postaSAH secured by endovascular coiling. ⋯ Clazosentan 15 mg/h significantly reduced postaSAH vasospasm-related morbidity/all-cause mortality; however, neither dose improved outcome (extended Glasgow Outcome Scale).
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
No increased risk of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage after thrombolysis in patients with European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study (ECASS) exclusion criteria.
The European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study (ECASS) III trial used additional exclusion criteria not present in current guidelines for thrombolytic therapy in the United States (age >80 years; National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale >25, combination of previous stroke and diabetes, aggressive measures required to control blood pressure [intravenous infusion], and oral anticoagulant treatment). We tested the hypothesis that thrombolysis is not safe in patients with 1 of the additional exclusion criteria. ⋯ In our cohort, none of the more stringent exclusion criteria from ECASS III were associated with increased risk of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage. Prospective randomized studies are needed clarify the safety and efficacy of tissue-type plasminogen activator in these patients through all treatment time windows.