Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Mild resuscitative hypothermia to improve neurological outcome after cardiac arrest. A clinical feasibility trial. Hypothermia After Cardiac Arrest (HACA) Study Group.
Recent animal studies showed that mild resuscitative hypothermia improves neurological outcome when applied after cardiac arrest. In a 3-year randomized, prospective, multicenter clinical trial, we hypothesized that mild resuscitative cerebral hypothermia (32 degrees C to 34 degrees C core temperature) would improve neurological outcome after cardiac arrest. ⋯ Mild resuscitative hypothermia in patients is feasible and safe. A clinical multicenter trial might prove that mild hypothermia is a useful method of cerebral resuscitation after global ischemic states.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Treating acute stroke patients with intravenous tPA. The OSF stroke network experience.
Since the FDA approved tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) in 1996 for acute ischemic stroke, few data have been obtained during the postmarketing phase, and applicability in rural hospitals does not exist. We attempt to examine the safety and outcome of intravenous tPA for acute ischemic stroke in the OSF Stroke Network. ⋯ tPA can be administered safely with good outcome at community and rural hospitals. The OSF Stroke Network can serve as a model to assist small community hospitals to set up stroke programs and deliver up-to-date, acute stroke therapies.
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Endovascular coil embolization and angioplasty for cerebral vasospasm are offered by some centers for the treatment of unruptured and ruptured cerebral aneurysms. Whether the availability of these therapies improves outcomes at these institutions has not been evaluated. ⋯ Patients treated for cerebral aneurysms at institutions offering endovascular services have lower rates of in-hospital mortality. Whether this is due to improved outcomes with endovascular therapy or is a marker for other aspects of multidisciplinary care cannot be answered in this analysis.
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Reliable identification of stroke patients in the field by prehospital personnel could expedite delivery of acute stroke therapy. The Los Angeles Prehospital Stroke Screen (LAPSS) is a 1-page instrument designed to allow prehospital personnel to rapidly identify acute stroke patients in the field. We performed a prospective, in-the-field validation study of the LAPSS. ⋯ The LAPSS allows prehospital personnel to identify patients with acute cerebral ischemia and intracerebral hemorrhage with a high degree of sensitivity and specificity.
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Hyponatremia has been shown in association with cerebral vasospasm (CVS) following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). In the past few years there has been increasing evidence that brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is responsible for natriuresis after SAH. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between BNP plasma concentrations and CVS after aneurysmal SAH. ⋯ In conclusion, our results show that BNP plasma levels are elevated shortly after SAH, although they increase markedly during the first week in patients with symptomatic CVS. The present findings suggest that secretion of BNP secretion after spontaneous SAH may exacerbate blood flow reduction due to arterial vasospasm.