Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Relationships between infarct growth, clinical outcome, and early recanalization in diffusion and perfusion imaging for understanding stroke evolution (DEFUSE).
The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between ischemic lesion growth, recanalization, and clinical response in stroke patients with and without a perfusion/diffusion mismatch. ⋯ In contrast to Absence of Mismatch patients, significant associations between recanalization, reduced infarct growth, and favorable clinical response were documented in patients with a perfusion/diffusion mismatch who were treated with tPA within 3 to 6 hours after stroke onset. These findings support the Mismatch hypothesis but require validation in a larger study.
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The Los Angeles Motor Scale (LAMS) is a brief 3-item stroke severity assessment measure designed for prehospital and Emergency Department use. ⋯ Stroke severity assessed by the LAMS predicts presence of large artery anterior circulation occlusion with high sensitivity and specificity. The LAMS is a promising instrument for use by prehospital personnel to identify select stroke patients for direct transport to Comprehensive Stroke Centers capable of endovascular interventions.
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Letter Clinical Trial
Large ischemic lesions on diffusion-weighted imaging done before intravenous tissue plasminogen activator thrombolysis predicts a poor outcome in patients with acute stroke.
MRI is useful for detecting early ischemic lesions before administration of tissue plasminogen activator in patients with hyperacute ischemic stroke. However, it is unclear whether early ischemic change seen on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) can be used to predict patient outcomes. ⋯ DWI ASPECTS appears to be a reliable tool for predicting bad outcome. Patients with a DWI ASPECTS > 5 should be considered eligible for tissue plasminogen activator therapy.
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3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors, or statins, have been associated with improved outcome after ischemic stroke and subarachnoid hemorrhage but an increased risk of incident intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We investigated (1) whether statin use before ICH was associated with functional independence at 90 days, and (2) whether survivors exposed to statins after ICH had an increased risk of recurrence. ⋯ Pre-ICH statin use is not associated with improved ICH functional outcome or mortality. Post-ICH statin use is not associated with an increased risk of ICH recurrence.
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Multicenter Study
Development and validation of a simple conversion model for comparison of intracerebral hemorrhage volumes measured on CT and gradient recalled echo MRI.
Gradient recalled echo MRI (GRE) has been shown to be as accurate as CT for the detection of acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). However, because of the differences in the signal parameter being detected, apparent hemorrhage size is expected to vary by imaging modality, with GRE providing larger volumes attributable to susceptibility effects. ⋯ Acute ICH volumes as measured on GRE pulse sequences are consistently larger than CT volumes. A simple mathematical conversion model has been developed: CT volume=0.8*GRE volume. This formula can be used in studies using both imaging modalities, across different studies, or to track ICH growth over time independent of imaging modality in an individual patient.