Journal of stroke and cerebrovascular diseases : the official journal of National Stroke Association
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J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis · Aug 2012
Case ReportsPredominant vasogenic edema in a patient with fatal cerebral air embolism.
Cerebral air embolism (CAE) is a rare neurologic complication that can occur in patients undergoing various medical procedures or trauma. CAE can sometimes result in death caused by severe brain edema. In spite of these implications, the pathophysiologic mechanisms and radiologic features of fatal CAE remain to be elucidated. ⋯ Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) of the brain obtained at 24 hours after the onset of CAE revealed scattered cortical gyriform high signal intensity often observed in CAE cases, whereas the apparent diffusion coefficient and T2-weighted imaging revealed diffuse hyperintensity in the subcortical deep white matter, indicating vasogenic edema. Our case showed predominant vasogenic edema rather than cortical ischemic changes in the subcortical deep white matter area. These findings indicate that diffuse subcortical vasogenic edema could be the main cause of mortality in fatal CAE.
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J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis · Jul 2012
Study of hemostatic biomarkers in acute ischemic stroke by clinical subtype.
We studied the usefulness of hemostatic biomarkers in assessing the pathology of thrombus formation, subtype diagnosis, prognosis in the acute phase of cerebral infarction, and differences between various hemostatic biomarkers. ⋯ Measurements of hemostatic biomarkers, such as FMC, SF, and D-dimer on the early stage of cerebral infarction are useful for distinguishing between CE and non-CE stroke.
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J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis · Jul 2012
Geometry of saccular, side-branch cerebral aneurysms: implications for treatment.
Saccular, side-branch aneurysms are cerebral aneurysms that occur at the junction between a major intracranial artery and a smaller vessel that originates from this parent artery. The geometry of this group of aneurysms was investigated to determine the location of the side branch in relation to the parent vessel or aneurysm neck. ⋯ Regardless of whether these observations reflect the universe of cerebral aneurysms, a certain percentage of this group of aneurysms will have the side-branch vessel originate from the aneurysm neck. This incidence will likely be influenced by aneurysm location and other factors. Protection of these important vessels from occlusion during endovascular management will require sophisticated endovascular techniques. If these measures are either unavailable or prove unsuccessful, then clipping will be needed if the side-branch vessel originates from the aneurysm neck and its preservation is critical.
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Economy class stroke syndrome is a cardiovascular complication associated with long periods of travel, only a few cases have been reported after long drives, however. The patient, a 62-year-old professional driver, had driven a truck for 2 days with minimal rest. While driving, he noted left foot paresis and numbness, along with geographical disorientation. ⋯ The only complications representing a stroke risk in this patient were a patent foramen ovale and an anterior septal aneurysm, as detected by transesophageal echocardiography. The patient was diagnosed with paradoxical cerebral embolism following his long drive. This case report examines the paradoxical cerebral emboli documented in a patient following a long period of driving.
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J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis · Feb 2012
Predictors of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube placement in patients with severe dysphagia from an acute-subacute hemispheric infarction.
This study investigated the influence of age, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, time from stroke onset, infarct location and volume in predicting placement of a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube in patients with severe dysphagia from an acute-subacute hemispheric infarction. We performed a retrospective analysis of a hospital-based patient cohort to analyze the effect of the aforementioned variables on the decision of whether or not to place a PEG tube. Consecutive patients were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes for acute ischemic stroke, Current Procedural Terminology (CPT)-4 codes for a formal swallowing evaluation by a speech pathologist, and procedure codes for PEG placement over a 5-year period from existing medical records at our institution. ⋯ After multivariate adjustment, only NIHSS score (odds ratio [OR], 1.15; 90% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.29; P = .04) and presence of bihemispheric infarcts (OR, 4.67; 90% CI, 1.58-13.75; P = .018) remained significant. Our data indicates that baseline NIHSS score and the presence of bihemispheric infarcts predict PEG placement during hospitalization from an acute-subacute hemispheric infarction in patients with severe dysphagia. These results require further validation in future studies.