Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
-
A stroke "weekend effect" on mortality has been demonstrated in other countries with a possible slight effect in the United States. We studied patients with stroke in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database for a weekend effect on thrombolytic use, in-hospital mortality, discharge disposition, hospital charges, and length of stay. ⋯ There is a slight stroke weekend effect on thrombolytic use, total hospital charges, and length of stay, but no difference in in-hospital mortality or discharge disposition.
-
In clinical trials and observational studies there is considerable inconsistency in the use of definitions to describe delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. A major cause for this inconsistency is the combining of radiographic evidence of vasospasm with clinical features of cerebral ischemia, although multiple factors may contribute to DCI. The second issue is the variability and overlap of terms used to describe each phenomenon. This makes comparisons among studies difficult. ⋯ The proposed measures reflect the most relevant morphological and clinical features of DCI without regard to pathogenesis to be used as an outcome measure in clinical trials and observational studies.
-
High-intensity transient signals (HITS) are the transcranial Doppler representation of both air and solid cerebral emboli. We studied the frequency of HITS associated with different surgical maneuvers during cardiopulmonary bypass for coronary artery bypass graft surgery and their association with postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). ⋯ Although cerebral microemboli have been implicated in the pathogenesis of POCD, in this study that included low-risk patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery, there was no demonstrable correlation between the counts of HITS and POCD.
-
Spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) still has a high risk for poor outcome that is frequently attributable to symptomatic cerebral vasospasm (CVS). We hypothesize that cellular microparticles (MP) play a role in the pathogenesis of CVS and may serve as biomarkers for CVS. ⋯ Endothelial MP were elevated in patients with SAH. This elevation coincided with the occurrence of Doppler sonographic CVS and therefore could be a novel biomarker for CVS. Platelet MP might be involved in the pathogenesis of cerebral infarction attributable to vasospasm, resulting in neurological morbidity.
-
Hemorrhagic transformation, incomplete reperfusion, neurotoxicity, and the short treatment time window comprise major challenges for thrombolytic therapy. Improving tissue plasminogen activator therapy has become one of the highest priorities in the stroke field. ⋯ We believe that the combination of low-dose tissue plasminogen activator with recombinant annexin A2 (a tissue plasminogen activator and plasminogen coreceptor) might constitute a promising approach. Our pilot study using a focal embolic stroke model in rats supports this hypothesis.