Cerebrovascular diseases
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Cerebrovascular diseases · Jan 2012
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative StudyLevetiracetam versus carbamazepine in patients with late poststroke seizures: a multicenter prospective randomized open-label study (EpIC Project).
Strokes are the leading cause of epileptic seizures in adults and account for 50% of seizures in those over the age of 65 years. The use of antiepileptic drugs to prevent recurrent poststroke seizures is recommended. ⋯ This trial suggests that LEV may be a valid alternative to CBZ in poststroke seizures, particularly in terms of efficacy and safety. In addition, our results show that LEV has significant advantages over CBZ on cognitive functions. This trial also indicates that LEV in monotherapy is a safe and effective therapeutic option in elderly patients who have suffered epileptic seizures following a stroke.
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Cerebrovascular diseases · Jan 2012
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyPrediction of early stroke recurrence in transient ischemic attack patients from the PROMAPA study: a comparison of prognostic risk scores.
Several clinical scales have been developed for predicting stroke recurrence. These clinical scores could be extremely useful to guide triage decisions. Our goal was to compare the very early predictive accuracy of the most relevant clinical scores [age, blood pressure, clinical features and duration of symptoms (ABCD) score, ABCD and diabetes (ABCD2) score, ABCD and brain infarction on imaging score, ABCD2 and brain infarction on imaging score, ABCD and prior TIA within 1 week of the index event (ABCD3) score, California Risk Score, Essen Stroke Risk Score and Stroke Prognosis Instrument II] in consecutive transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients. ⋯ All published scores that do not take into account vascular imaging or prior TIA when identifying stroke risk after TIA failed to predict risk when applied by neurologists. Clinical scores were not able to replace extensive emergent diagnostic evaluations such as vascular imaging, and they should take into account unstable patients with recent prior transient episodes.
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Cerebrovascular diseases · Jan 2012
ReviewSymptomatic intracranial hemorrhage following intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke: a critical review of case definitions.
Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (SICH) is a devastating complication of intravenous thrombolysis treatment that is associated with high mortality. Clinical trials, stroke registries and cohort studies employ different case definitions to identify stroke patients with SICH following intravenous thrombolysis. We systematically reviewed the reported rates of SICH following intravenous thrombolysis and compared their consistency with mortality outcomes. ⋯ SICH rates vary considerably between studies and these differences may relate to the differences in the criteria used to define SICH. Until a case definition with high interrater agreement and good correlation with stroke outcomes becomes available, detailed information on the type of bleeding, the extent of NIHSS deterioration, neuroimaging features and the time from thrombolysis to diagnosis of hemorrhage should be reported to permit a correct interpretation of SICH rates.
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Cerebrovascular diseases · Jan 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialThe effect of valsartan versus non-RAAS treatment on autoregulation of cerebral blood flow.
Cerebral autoregulation (CA) is a protective mechanism which maintains the steadiness of the cerebral blood flow (CBF) through a broad range of systemic blood pressure (BP). Acute hypertension has been shown to reduce the cerebrovascular adaptation to BP variations. However, it is still unknown whether CA is impaired in chronic hypertension. This study evaluated whether a strict control of BP affects the CA in patients with chronic hypertension, and compared a valsartan-based regimen to a regimen not inhibiting the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (non-RAAS). ⋯ In elderly hypertensive men with isolated chronic systolic hypertension, CA seems efficient at baseline and is not significantly affected by 6 months of BP-lowering treatment. This suggests that the preventive effects of BP medication against stroke are not mediated through a restoration of the CA.
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Perioperative stroke is an ischemic or hemorrhagic cerebrovascular accident that can arise intraoperatively or from 3 to 30 days after surgery. This relatively rare complication deserves attention because of its high mortality and serious disability, the latter of which can lead to prolonged hospital stay as well as discharge to long-term care facilities. The aim of this article was to review the literature on perioperative stroke in general surgery, excluding carotid and cardiac surgeries because these have already been thoroughly investigated in previous papers. ⋯ To date, current guidelines are incomplete regarding the management of patients with vascular disease undergoing nonvascular surgery. It is recommended to stop oral anticoagulation approximately 5 days before major surgery to adequately allow the INR to normalize, and at the same time subcutaneous low-molecular-weight heparin or intravenous unfractionated heparin should be started. Regarding new anticoagulants, dabigatran does not need to be withheld for minor procedures. Currently, there are no clear recommendations on the use of rivaroxaban and apixaban. Data concerning the management of patients undergoing antiplatelet therapy are lacking. To date, neurologists discourage the perioperative withdrawal of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid, ASA) especially in patients in secondary prevention. The 'Antiplatelet Agents in the Perioperative Management of Patients Trial' is ongoing to assess the safety and determine the optimal use of ASA in the perioperative management of patients undergoing general and abdominal surgery. In the meantime an individualized, accurate, multidisciplinary (surgical, neurological, cardiological and anesthesiological) risk/benefit assessment remains the best basis for treatment decision.