Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
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Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for the formation and rupture of intracranial aneurysms. Few studies have examined predictors of resumption of cigarette smoking after a first episode of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). ⋯ More than one third of prior smokers continue to use nicotine after SAH. Young age at smoking onset and a history of depression or alcohol use are risk factors for continued cigarette use. Targeted smoking cessation programs are needed to reduce the high rate of smoking resumption after SAH.
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Practice Guideline Guideline
Trial design and reporting standards for intra-arterial cerebral thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates that stroke costs now exceed 45 billion dollars per year. Stroke is the third leading cause of death and one of the leading causes of adult disability in North America, Europe, and Asia. A number of well-designed randomized stroke trials and case series have now been reported in the literature to evaluate the safety and efficacy of thrombolytic therapy for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. These stroke trials have included intravenous studies, intra-arterial studies, and combinations of both, as well as use of mechanical devices for removal of thromboemboli and of neuroprotectant drugs, alone or in combination with thrombolytic therapy. At this time, the only therapy demonstrated to improve outcomes from an acute stroke is thrombolysis of the clot responsible for the ischemic event. There is room for improvement in stroke lysis studies. Divergent criteria, with disparate reporting standards and definitions, have made direct comparisons between stroke trials difficult to compare and contrast in terms of overall patient outcomes and efficacy of treatment. There is a need for more uniform definitions of multiple variables such as collateral flow, degree of recanalization, assessment of perfusion, and infarct size. In addition, there are multiple unanswered questions that require further investigation, in particular, questions as to which patients are best treated with thrombolysis. One of the most important predictors of clinical success is time to treatment, with early treatment of <3 hours for intravenous tissue plasminogen activator and <6 hours for intra-arterial thrombolysis demonstrating significant improvement in terms of 90-day clinical outcome and reduced cerebral hemorrhage. It is possible that improved imaging that identifies the ischemic penumbra and distinguishes it from irreversibly infarcted tissue will more accurately select patients for therapy than duration of symptoms. There are additional problems in the assessment of patients eligible for thrombolysis. These include being able to predict whether a particular site of occlusion can be successfully revascularized, predict an individual patient's prognosis and outcome after revascularization, and in particular, to predict the development of intracerebral hemorrhage, with and without clinical deterioration. It is not clear to assume that achieving immediate flow restoration due to thrombolytic therapy implies clinical success and improved outcome. There is no simple correlation between recanalization and observed clinical benefit in all ischemic stroke patients, because other interactive variables, such as collateral circulation, the ischemic penumbra, lesion location and extent, time to treatment, and hemorrhagic conversion, are all interrelated to outcome. ⋯ In summary, this article serves to provide a more uniform set of criteria for clinical trials and reporting outcomes used in designing stroke trials involving intra-arterial thrombolytic agents, either alone or in combination with other therapies. It is anticipated that by having a more uniform set of reporting standards, more meaningful analysis of the data and the literature will be able to be achieved.
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Health-related quality of life (HRQL) is a key outcome in stroke clinical trials. Stroke-specific HRQL scales (eg, SS-QOL, SIS) have generally been developed with samples of stroke survivors that exclude people with aphasia. We adapted the SS-QOL for use with people with aphasia to produce the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale (SAQOL). We report results from the psychometric evaluation of the initial 53-item SAQOL and the item-reduced SAQOL-39. ⋯ The SAQOL-39 is an acceptable, reliable, and valid measure of HRQL in people with long-term aphasia. Further testing is needed to evaluate the responsiveness of the SAQOL-39 and to investigate its usefulness in evaluative research and routine clinical practice.
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We sought to report the occurrence and risk factors of intracranial hemorrhage during long-term follow-up of patients with internal carotid artery stenosis, with and without carotid endarterectomy. ⋯ Intracranial hemorrhages are uncommon in patients with internal carotid artery stenosis but are associated with high mortality and morbidity. The risk factors for intracranial hemorrhage are different between medically and surgically treated patients.
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Studies have demonstrated the importance of early stroke treatment. If a neuroprotective agent (NA) clinical trial is successful, the greatest benefit might be attained with early prehospital administration. This study determined the potential reduction in time to treatment of stroke patients when NAs were administered in the prehospital setting. ⋯ Prehospital NA administration can potentially significantly reduce the time to first intervention in stroke patients.