Journal of stroke and cerebrovascular diseases : the official journal of National Stroke Association
-
J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis · May 2014
Case ReportsA rare cause of embolic stroke in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia.
A 57-year-old male patient with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia presented with an acute right middle cerebral artery ischemic stroke. Investigations revealed a right middle cerebral artery M2 occlusion, hypoxemia, and a large pulmonary arteriovenous malformation and right lower limb deep venous thrombosis. Closure of the pulmonary arteriovenous malformation was successfully performed with an Amplatzer device. Catheter closure of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations in patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia is a recognized treatment modality to prevent recurrent ischemic stroke and other embolic and hemorrhagic complications.
-
J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis · May 2014
Utility of early post-treatment single-photon emission computed tomography imaging to predict outcome in stroke patients treated with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator.
It is important to predict the outcome of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA)-treated patients early after the treatment for considering the post-tPA treatment option. We assessed cerebral blood flow (CBF) of tPA-treated patients with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) 1 hour after tPA infusion to predict the patient outcome. Technetium-99m-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime SPECT was performed in 35 consecutive tPA-treated patients. ⋯ Most ICHs were located in hypoperfusion areas, and no ICH was related to hyperperfusion. The results of the present study demonstrated that hypoperfusion volume was associated with poor outcome, whereas the presence of hyperperfusion seemed to be predictive of symptom improvement but not of development of ICH. Taken together, early post-treatment SPECT imaging seems to be a useful biomarker of outcome in tPA-treated patients.
-
An association between marijuana use and stroke has been previously reported. However, the health risks of newer synthetic cannabinoid compounds are less well known. We describe 2 cases that introduce a previously unreported association between synthetic cannabis use and ischemic stroke in young adults. ⋯ Both women were found to have acute, large-territory infarctions of the right middle cerebral artery. Our 2 cases had risk factors for ischemic stroke but were otherwise young and healthy and the onset of their deficits occurred within hours after first-time exposure to synthetic cannabis. Synthetic cannabis use is an important consideration in the investigation of stroke in young adults.
-
J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis · Apr 2014
Racial and gender differences in stroke severity, outcomes, and treatment in patients with acute ischemic stroke.
Previous research has indicated that women and blacks have worse outcomes after acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Little research has been done to investigate the combined influence of race and gender in the presentation, treatment, and outcome of patients with AIS. We sought to determine the association of race and gender on initial stroke severity, thrombolysis, and functional outcome after AIS. ⋯ Race and gender were not significantly associated with short-term outcome, although black women were significantly less likely to be treated with tPA. Black women had more tPA exclusions than any other group. The primary reason for tPA exclusion in this study was not arriving within 3 hours of stroke symptom onset. Given the growth in incident strokes projected in minority groups in the next 4 decades, identifying factors that contribute to black women not arriving to the emergency department in time are of great importance.
-
J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis · Apr 2014
A simple bedside stroke dysphagia screen, validated against videofluoroscopy, detects dysphagia and aspiration with high sensitivity.
Early identification of dysphagia is associated with lower rates of pneumonia after acute stroke. The Barnes-Jewish Hospital Stroke Dysphagia Screen (BJH-SDS) was previously developed as a simple bedside screen performed by nurses for sensitive detection of dysphagia and was previously validated against the speech pathologist's clinical assessment for dysphagia. In this study, acute stroke patients were prospectively enrolled to assess the accuracy of the BJH-SDS when tested against the gold standard test for dysphagia, the videofluoroscopic swallow study (VFSS). ⋯ The BJH-SDS, validated against videofluoroscopy, is a simple bedside screen for sensitive identification of dysphagia and aspiration in the stroke population.