International journal of stroke : official journal of the International Stroke Society
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Prehospital factors determining regional variation in thrombolytic therapy in acute ischemic stroke.
Treatment rates with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator vary by region, which can be partially explained by organizational models of stroke care. A recent study demonstrated that prehospital factors determine a higher thrombolysis rate in a centralized vs. decentralized model in the north of the Netherlands. ⋯ These results suggest that the larger proportion of patients arriving within 4·5 h in the centralized model might be related to a lower threshold to use emergency services to transport stroke patients and partly to preferential referral of thrombolysis candidates.
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Reliable epidemiological data on the true incidence of cerebrovascular events related to spontaneous cervical artery dissection, including stroke and transient ischemic attack, are scarce. ⋯ The incidence of cerebrovascular events related to vertebral artery dissection is greater than previously reported, which may indicate a better identification of patients due to improvements in diagnostic procedures.
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The ASTRAL score was recently shown to reliably predict three-month functional outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke. ⋯ The addition of information derived from multimodal imaging does not increase ASTRAL score's accuracy to predict functional outcome despite having an independent prognostic value. More selected radiological parameters applied in specific subgroups of stroke patients may add prognostic value of multimodal imaging.
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Individual assessment of rupture risk of cerebral aneurysms is challenging, and increased knowledge of predictors for aneurysm rupture is needed. Smoking and hypertension are shared risk factors for atherosclerotic disease and cerebral aneurysms, and patients with atherosclerosis have an increased prevalence of intracranial aneurysms. Carotid ultrasound with evaluation of intima-media thickness (IMT) is a non-invasive, safe, rapid, well-validated and reproducible technique for quantification of subclinical atherosclerosis and assessment of cardio- and cerebrovascular risk. Increased IMT is associated with elevated risk for ischemic stroke and myocardial infarction, but sparse data exist on carotid ultrasound findings in patients with intracranial aneurysms. ⋯ There is an association between IMT and intracranial aneurysm rupture status at the time of aneurysm treatment. Carotid IMT can be a potential predictor of aneurysm rupture. IMT may thus be a possible adjunct in the risk assessment of aneurysm rupture, and a helpful tool in patient risk stratification and counseling.