Diagnosis Of Ischemic Stroke Research Articles

Cryptogenic stroke. Part 4: Antiphospholipid syndrome and cancer

Cryptogenic embolic stroke (embolic strokes of undetermined source, ESUS) is an intermediate diagnosis in patients with unknown etiology of stroke and implies the absence of large sources of cardioembolism and significant extra- and intracranial stenoses and probably embolic pathogenesis of cerebral infarction. In the previous parts of the article, we discussed the issues of diagnosis and secondary prevention of ESUS with underlying potential aortoaortic sources of embolism, paradoxical embolism and atrial cardiopathy. This article discusses the issues of epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and secondary prevention of ischemic stroke with underlying antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and cancer-associated stroke (RAI). Both mechanisms of stroke are associated with hypercoagulability, often manifest as multifocal cortical brain lesions, and respond to anticoagulant therapy. While APS should be suspected primarily in young women with pathology of pregnancy, arterial and venous thrombosis, as well as livedo reticularis (racemosa), RAI does not have a specific clinical picture, but can manifest as diffuse cortical infarcts (symptom of three pools) combined with increased D-dimer level. If APS is suspected, appropriate haematological screening is required, followed by the use of the Sydney diagnostic criteria. Possible diagnosis of RAI often requires transesophageal echocardiography (ruling out non-bacterial thromboendocarditis) and oncological screening. Secondary prevention of APS consists in prescribing warfarin with the target international normalized ratio (INR) of 2.0 to 3.0. RAI is treated with anticoagulants, but the choice of a drug and dose is determined by the balance between thrombotic/thromboembolic and hemorrhagic risks.

Combining convolutional attention mechanism and residual deformable Transformer for infarct segmentation from CT scans of acute ischemic stroke patients.

Segmentation and evaluation of infarcts on medical images are essential for diagnosis and prognosis of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Computed tomography (CT) is the first-choice examination for patients with AIS. To accurately segment infarcts from the CT images of patients with AIS, we proposed an automated segmentation method combining the convolutional attention mechanism and residual Deformable Transformer in this article. The method used the encoder-decoder structure, where the encoders were employed for downsampling to obtain the feature of the images and the decoder was used for upsampling and segmentation. In addition, we further applied the convolutional attention mechanism and residual network structure to improve the effectiveness of feature extraction. Our code is available at: https://github.com/XZhiXiang/AIS-segmentation/tree/master. The proposed method was assessed on a public dataset containing 397 non-contrast CT (NCCT) images of AIS patients (AISD dataset). The symptom onset to CT time was less than 24 h. The experimental results illustrate that this work had a Dice coefficient (DC) of 58.66% for AIS infarct segmentation, which outperforms several existing methods. Furthermore, volumetric analysis of infarcts indicated a strong correlation (Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.948) between the AIS infarct volume obtained by the proposed method and manual segmentation. The strong correlation between the infarct segmentation obtained via our method and the ground truth allows us to conclude that our method could accurately segment infarcts from NCCT images.

Datawarehouse-enabled quality control of atrial fibrillation detection in the stroke unit setting

Objective(1) To assess the accuracy of a standard operating procedure (SOP) regarding the utilization of atrial fibrillation (AF) alarms in everyday clinical practice, and (2) to evaluate the performance of automated continuous surveillance for atrial fibrillation (AF) in hospitalized acute stroke patients. DesignRetrospective cohort study. SettingTwo stroke units from two tertiary care hospitals in Berlin, Germany. ParticipantsWe identified 635 patients with ischemic stroke diagnosis for the time period between 01. January and 30. September 2021 of which 176 patients had recorded AF alarms during monitoring. Of those, 115 patients were randomly selected for evaluation. After excluding 6 patients with hemorrhagic stroke in their records, 109 patients (mean age: 79.1 years, median NIHSS at admission: 6, 57% female) remained for analysis. InterventionUsing a clinical data warehouse for comprehensive data storage we retrospectively downloaded and visualized ECG data segments of 65 s duration around the automated AF alarms. We restricted the maximum number of ECG segments to ten per patient. Each ECG segment plot was uploaded into a REDCap database and categorized as either AF, non-AF or artifact by manual review. Atrial flutter was subsumed as AF. These classifications were then matched with 1) medical history and known diseases before stroke, 2) discharge diagnosis, and 3) recommended treatment plan in the medical history using electronic health records. Main outcome measuresThe primary outcome was the proportion of previously unknown AF diagnoses correctly identified by the monitoring system but missed by the clinical team during hospitalization. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of patients in whom a diagnosis of AF would likely have led to anticoagulant therapy. We also evaluated the accuracy of the automated detection system in terms of its positive predictive value (PPV). ResultsWe evaluated a total of 717 ECG alarm segments from 109 patients. In 4 patients (3.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.18–9.68%) physicians had missed AF despite at least one true positive alarm. All four patients did not receive long-term secondary prevention in form of anticoagulant therapy. 427 out of 717 alarms were rated true positives, resulting in a positive predictive value of 0.6 (CI 0.56–0.63) in this cohort. ConclusionBy connecting a data warehouse, electronic health records and a REDCap survey tool, we introduce a path to assess the monitoring quality of AF in acute stroke patients. We find that implemented standards of procedure to detect AF during stroke unit care are effective but leave room for improvement. Such data warehouse-based concepts may help to adjust internal processes or identify targets of further investigations.

Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Risk of Ischemic Stroke After Nontraumatic Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke. Whether there are racial and ethnic disparities in the risk of ischemic stroke after ICH is poorly understood. We therefore aimed to test the hypothesis that non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic ICH patients have a higher risk of ischemic stroke compared with non-Hispanic White ICH patients. We performed a retrospective cohort study using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) on all hospitalizations at all nonfederal hospitals in Florida from 2005 to 2018 and New York from 2006 to 2016. Race and ethnicity were coded as a single variable in HCUP. We included patients with an ICH, and without a prior or concomitant diagnosis of ischemic stroke, ascertained using validated International Classification of Diseases-Clinical Modification-9 and 10 diagnosis codes. Using Cox proportional hazard models, we studied the relationship between race and risk of ischemic stroke starting from the time of discharge from ICH hospitalization, after adjustment of demographics and vascular comorbidities. We included 91 342 patients with ICH-62% non-Hispanic White, 18% non-Hispanic Black, and 12% Hispanic patients. Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic patients were younger and had a higher prevalence of cardiovascular comorbidities; however, atrial fibrillation was more prevalent among non-Hispanic White patients. During a median follow-up period of 4.4 years (interquartile range, 1.5-8.1), an incident ischemic stroke occurred in 3377 (6%) non-Hispanic White, 1323 (8%) non-Hispanic Black, and 844 (8%) Hispanic patients. In adjusted Cox models, the risk of an ischemic stroke was significantly higher among non-Hispanic Black patients (hazard ratio, 1.6 [95% CI, 1.5-1.8]) and Hispanic patients (hazard ratio, 1.4 [95% CI, 1.3-1.5]), compared with non-Hispanic White patients. Similar results were obtained in sensitivity analyses when using death as a competing risk and after excluding patients with atrial fibrillation and valvular heart disease. In a large heterogeneous cohort of patients with ICH, we found that non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic patients had a significantly higher risk of ischemic stroke compared with non-Hispanic White patients.

Possibilities of magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis of ischemic stroke in children

Research objective. To study the features of visualization of ischemic stroke in children at the early stages of the formation of the pathological process using magnetic resonance imaging.Material and methods. The results of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination of 34 children with clinical manifestations of ischemic stroke (IS) were analyzed. The analyzed group included patients aged from the 29th day of life to 18 years who had focal changes in the brain substance (BS) during an MRI examination within a period of not more than 48 hours from the onset of neurological symptoms.Results. MRI makes it possible to establish in the early stages of the development of the pathological process the ischemic lesion of the BS in 100% of cases, as well as to evaluate the time indicators of the occurrence of focal changes, based on the analysis and comparison of pulsed MRI sequences, which allow characterizing the severity of the process.Discussion. The analysis of data obtained confirms the results of studies described earlier in the foreign and domestic literature. Moreover, there is a difference in the MR signal specifications from the IS focus during the first 6 hours upon occurrence of the neurological symptoms.Conclusions/findings. The MRI studies in children are important and necessary to determine the IS formation, evaluate the onset and dynamics of the pathological process that contribute to the timely detection of focal changes in the brain structures at the early stages.

Air Medical Transport for Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study of National Trends Over an 8-Year Period

ObjectiveOptimal management of ischemic stroke is time dependent. An understanding of patterns of air medical transport may identify disparities that could affect patient care. MethodsIn this 8-year (2007-2014) observational, retrospective, cohort study, we abstracted a 20% national sample of Medicare data from patients ≥ 66 years of age hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke who presented to the emergency department by ambulance (air or ground). ResultsAmong 149,751 hospitalized stroke patients who arrived by ambulance, the mean age was 81.6 years (standard deviation = 8.0 years), 62.1% were female (n = 93,007), and 86.3% were White (n = 129,268). Of these, 5,534 patients (3.7%) used any form of air ambulance. Air ambulance use (2007: 2.5%, 2014: 4.9%; P < .001) and arrival at certified stroke centers (2007: 40.3%, 2014: 63.2%; P < .001) increased over time. Air ambulance use was less likely among older patients (76-85 years and >85 years vs. 66-75 years; odds ratio [OR] = 0.68; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64-0.72 and OR = 0.34; 95% CI, 0.32-0.37, respectively) and all racial minorities except American Natives (OR = 2.07; 95% CI, 1.57-2.73) and more likely among sicker patients (Charlson Comorbidity Index ≥ 2 vs. 1, OR = 1.23; 95% CI, 1.09-1.38) and rural residents (OR = 1.34; 95% CI, 1.09-1.64). After adjustment for covariates, air ambulance use was associated with higher odds of thrombolysis (adjusted OR = 2.57; 95% CI, 2.38-2.79). ConclusionAir ambulance use is independently associated with increased thrombolysis use for stroke, but disparities exist in both air ambulance and thrombolysis use. Further research into underlying causes for these disparities would be beneficial for systems and public health-based interventions for improving outcomes for ischemic stroke.

Does Diffusion Restriction Pattern on MRI Predict Stroke Etiology in a Cancer Patient?

Stroke and cancer are two of the most common health problems. Moreover, stroke is more common in patients with cancer than in the normal population, due to coagulation problems. Knowing the etiology of stroke is important for determining treatment options. This study aimed to determine the relationship between ischemic lesion topographies using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the etiology of stroke in patients with cancer. All patients with ischemic stroke in the Bezmialem Stroke Registry over a 4- year period were retrospectively analyzed in this study. Patients with acute ischemic stroke and additional diagnoses of solid and active malignancy (excluding hematologic malignancies) were included in the analysis. We investigated whether there was a relationship between the etiology of patients with cancer-related stroke according to the stroke etiologic classification and the diffusion restriction patterns on MRI. In this registry, 32 of 1472 patients were diagnosed as having active cancer. Fourteen patients were evaluated as having definite cardioembolism, eight patients as probable cardioembolism, and four patients had inadequate examinations. Only one patient was classified as having an atherothrombotic stroke. Isolated acute infarction was seen in 15 of 32 patients. In patients with multiple acute infarct areas (n=17), acute lesions characterized by micro embolisms in a single vessel area were detected in four patients, and acute lesions characterized by bilateral (anterior and/or posterior system) micro embolisms in more than one vessel area in 13 patients. The most common etiology of stroke in patients with cancer was found to be embolic/ cardioembolic. This is important for the treatment plans for ischemic stroke in patients with cancer.

Association Between Left Atrial Appendage Thrombus Formation and Monocyte/HDL Ratio in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke

Objective: There is an apparent link between thrombus formation and inflammation. Monocyte/HDL ratio (MHR) has been determined as an inflammatory marker and associated with many cardiovascular disorders like coronary artery disease, acute coronary stent thrombus, coronary thrombus burden and atrial fibrillation (AF). The purpose of this study was to elucidate the association between MHR and left atrial appendage thrombus formation (AATF) in patients with acute ischemic stroke.&#x0D; Methods: A total of 69 patients with the diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke were retrospectively enrolled in the study. Demographic, clinical and echocardiographic data were collected retrospectively from the patients’ records. MHR and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were calculated from the present laboratory data.&#x0D; Results: There was a significant positive correlation between MHR and NLR (r=0.6; p

Diagnostic Value of Computed Tomography Angiography in Suspected Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients With Respect to National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale Score.

Noncontrast computed tomography (NCCT) plus computed tomography angiography (CTA) is the standard imaging modality for acute stroke. We investigated whether there is an additional diagnostic value of supra-aortic CTA in relation to National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and resultant effective radiation dose. In this observational study, 788 patients with suspected acute stroke were included and divided into 3 NIHSS groups: group 1, NIHSS 0-2; group 2, NIHSS 3-5; and group 3, NIHSS ≥ 6.Computed tomography scans were assessed for findings of acute ischemic stroke and vascular pathologies in 3 regions. Final diagnosis was obtained from medical records. Effective radiation dose was calculated based on the dose-length product. Seven hundred forty-one patients were included. Group 1 had 484 patients, group 2 had 127 patients, and group 3 had 130 patients. Computed tomography diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke was made in 76 patients. In 37 patients, a diagnosis of acute stroke was made based on pathologic CTA findings in case of an unremarkable NCCT. Stroke occurrence was the lowest in groups 1 and 2, with 3.6% and 6.3%, respectively, compared with 12.7% in group 3. If both NCCT and CTA were positive, the patient was discharged with a stroke diagnosis. Male sex had the highest effect on the final stroke diagnosis. The mean effective radiation dose was 2.6 mSv. In female patients with NIHSS 0-2, additional CTA rarely contains relevant additional findings decisive for treatment decisions or overall patient outcomes; therefore, CTA in this patient group might yield less impactful findings, and the applied radiation dose could be lowered by approximately 35%.

Survey on antiphospholipid syndrome diagnosis and antithrombotic treatment in patients with ischemic stroke, other brain ischemic injury, or arterial thromboembolism in other sites: communication from ISTH SSC Subcommittee on Lupus Anticoagulant/Antiphospholipid Antibodies

BackgroundThe optimal strategy for diagnosis and antithrombotic treatment of patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS)–associated acute ischemic stroke (AIS), transient ischemic attack (TIA), or other brain ischemic injury is poorly defined. ObjectivesThe survey goal was to capture variations in diagnosis and antithrombotic treatment of APS-associated ischemic stroke and related disorders to inform guidance and clinical trials to define optimal management. MethodsProfessional colleagues, including key opinion leaders, were invited to complete a REDCap survey questionnaire initiated by the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis Scientific and Standardisation Committee Subcommittee on Lupus Anticoagulant/Antiphospholipid Antibodies. The survey data were tallied using simple descriptive statistics. ResultsThere was generally good agreement on several aspects, including which patients to test for antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL), use of a lifelong vitamin K antagonist for AIS or recurrent TIA, and formal cognitive assessment for suspected cognitive impairment. There was less agreement on other aspects, including aPL testing for brain ischemic injury other than AIS/TIA or if an alternative cause for AIS or TIA exists; choice of aPL tests, their timing, and age cutoff; the aPL phenotype to trigger antithrombotic treatment; management for patent foramen ovale; antithrombotic treatment for first TIA or white matter hyperintensities; head magnetic resonance imaging specifications; and low-molecular-weight heparin dosing/anti-Xa monitoring in pregnancy. The survey highlighted that approximately 25% practice at dedicated APS clinics and <50% have a multidisciplinary team structure for patients with APS. ConclusionMuch of the variation in practice reflects the lack of evidence-based recommendations. The survey results should inform the development of a more uniform multidisciplinary consensus approach to diagnosis and antithrombotic treatment.

Does Emergency Medical Services Blood Collection Shorten Time to Tissue Plasminogen Activator in Ischemic Stroke?

Background: Ischemic stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability in the United States. To reduce the likelihood of debilitating outcomes, early treatment with fibrinolytics is necessary; however, many struggle to identify strategies that limit time to treatment. The purpose of this study is to identify if implementing a process for obtaining laboratory blood draws by emergency medical services (EMS) prior to patient arrival at the hospital will reduce the door-to-needle time for patients arriving with acute ischemic stroke. Objectives: To compare the door-to-needle time for patients with acute ischemic stroke who had blood drawn via EMS versus in hospital. Methods: This single-center, retrospective cohort study was conducted from 2015 to 2017 at a 433-bed designated Level II Trauma Center and Comprehensive Stroke Center community hospital. A comprehensive chart review was done via stroke coordinator binders and electronic medical record. Adult patients ≥18 years of age with an acute ischemic stroke diagnosis who met criteria for and received alteplase were included in the study. Patients were excluded if they did not arrive via EMS. The primary end point assessed time to fibrinolytic treatment via door-to-needle times. Results: A total of 66 patients were included with 28 in the EMS laboratory drawn group and 38 in the usual group. Median door-to-needle time was 57.5 ± 19.0 minutes in the EMS group and 55.0 ± 31.9 minutes in the usual care group (p = 0.818). Conclusions: Collection of blood for laboratories by EMS personnel did not significantly shorten door-to-needle time.

Prehospital transdermal glyceryl trinitrate in patients with ultra-acute presumed stroke (RIGHT-2): effects on outcomes at day 365 in a randomised, sham-controlled, blinded, phase III, superiority ambulance-based trial

BackgroundThe Rapid Intervention with Glyceryl Trinitrate in Hypertensive Stroke Trial-2 (RIGHT-2) reported no overall treatment difference between glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) and sham at day 90. Here we assess participants’ outcomes...

Identification of cell death-related biomarkers and immune infiltration in ischemic stroke between male and female patients.

Stroke is the second leading cause of death and the third leading cause of disability worldwide, with ischemic stroke (IS) being the most prevalent. A substantial number of irreversible brain cell death occur in the short term, leading to impairment or death in IS. Limiting the loss of brain cells is the primary therapy target and a significant clinical issue for IS therapy. Our study aims to establish the gender specificity pattern from immune cell infiltration and four kinds of cell-death perspectives to improve IS diagnosis and therapy. Combining and standardizing two IS datasets (GSE16561 and GSE22255) from the GEO database, we used the CIBERSORT algorithm to investigate and compare the immune cell infiltration in different groups and genders. Then, ferroptosis-related differently expressed genes (FRDEGs), pyroptosis-related DEGs (PRDEGs), anoikis-related DEGs (ARDEGs), and cuproptosis-related DEGs (CRDEGs) between the IS patient group and the healthy control group were identified in men and women, respectively. Machine learning (ML) was finally used to generate the disease prediction model for cell death-related DEGs (CDRDEGs) and to screen biomarkers related to cell death involved in IS. Significant changes were observed in 4 types of immune cells in male IS patients and 10 types in female IS patients compared with healthy controls. In total, 10 FRDEGs, 11 PRDEGs, 3 ARDEGs, and 1 CRDEG were present in male IS patients, while 6 FRDEGs, 16 PRDEGs, 4 ARDEGs, and 1 CRDEG existed in female IS patients. ML techniques indicated that the best diagnostic model for both male and female patients was the support vector machine (SVM) for CDRDEG genes. SVM's feature importance analysis demonstrated that SLC2A3, MMP9, C5AR1, ACSL1, and NLRP3 were the top five feature-important CDRDEGs in male IS patients. Meanwhile, the PDK4, SCL40A1, FAR1, CD163, and CD96 displayed their overwhelming influence on female IS patients. These findings contribute to a better knowledge of immune cell infiltration and their corresponding molecular mechanisms of cell death and offer distinct clinically relevant biological targets for IS patients of different genders.

Efficacy and Safety of Panax notoginseng Saponins in the Treatment of Adults With Ischemic Stroke in China

Preclinical and clinical studies have suggested the neuroprotective effect of Panax notoginseng saponins (Xuesaitong soft capsules). However, robust evidence in patients with ischemic stroke is lacking. To assess the efficacy and safety of Xuesaitong soft capsules in patients with ischemic stroke. This multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial was conducted at 67 tertiary health centers in China from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2020. Included patients were aged 18 to 75 years with a diagnosis of ischemic stroke and a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score between 4 and 15. Eligible patients were randomly assigned within 14 days after symptom onset to receive either treatment with Xuesaitong soft capsules (120 mg orally twice daily) or placebo (120 mg orally twice daily) for 3 months. The primary outcome was functional independence at 3 months, defined as a modified Rankin Scale score of 0 to 2. Among 3072 eligible patients with ischemic stroke who were randomized, 2966 (96.5%) were included in the modified intention-to-treat cohort (median [IQR] age, 62 [55-68] years; 1982 male [66.8%]). The number of patients who achieved functional independence at 3 months was 1328 (89.3%) in the Xuesaitong group and 1218 (82.4%) in the control group (odds ratio, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.56-2.44; P < .001). In the safety cohort, serious adverse events occurred in 15 of 1488 patients (1.0%) in the Xuesaitong group and 16 of 1482 (1.1%) in the control group (P = .85). In this randomized clinical trial, Xuesaitong soft capsules significantly increased the likelihood of functional independence at 3 months in patients with ischemic stroke, indicating that this may be a safe and effective alternative therapy to improve prognosis in this population. Chinese Clinical Trial Registry Identifier: ChiCTR1800016363.

А clinical case of endovascular treatment for myocardial infarction combined with ischemic stroke

The paper presents a clinical case of endovascular treatment for a patient affected by acute myocardial infarction combined with acute ischemic stroke. The study emphasizes a role of early diagnosis of ischemic stroke in timely detection of cerebral embolism in large vessels during the postoperative period. Treatment strategy is analyzed along with the effectiveness of intravascular thrombectomy that significantly reduces mortality and disability of patients with acute cerebrovascular disease.

Prehospital transdermal glyceryl trinitrate for ultra-acute ischaemic stroke: data from the RIGHT-2 randomised sham-controlled ambulance trial

BackgroundThe effect of transdermal glyceryl trinitrate (GTN, a nitrovasodilator) on clinical outcome when administered before hospital admission in suspected stroke patients is unclear. Here, we assess the safety and efficacy...

A Systematic Review of Magnetic Resonance Imaging for the Diagnosis of Stroke

Background: With the advancement of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a non-invasive imaging technique, ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke diagnostic accuracy has increased significantly. The intricate resolution of MRI enables better visualisation of the structure of the brain and vulnerable regions to ischemia. As a result, the detection of hypoperfused areas is now more accurate. Additionally, MRI makes it possible to see hematomas in the brain, revealing hemorrhagic strokes brought on by burst arteries. MRI has become an essential tool in the fight against strokes because to its crucial role in evaluating damage caused by strokes. Purpose: The purpose of this article is to examine the advantages and disadvantages of utilising MRI scans to identify strokes. The use of MRI technology to identify brain injury and differentiate between strokes caused by blood flow and haemorrhage will be highlighted. When it comes to stroke therapy and prognosis, MRI might potentially affect the advice given by doctors. Methods: The Department of Radiology at KTH Hospital Peshawar thoroughly investigated the possibility of MRI for stroke diagnosis between March 2016 and March 2017. We searched the PubMed and EMBASE archives for papers about the use of MRI in stroke patient investigations in order to assemble the most information possible. We only chose studies that have a main concentration on MRI imaging and stroke patients. Results: Twenty-nine research publications examined the efficiency of MRI with an emphasis on stroke diagnosis. Twenty-four of them examined ischemic stroke diagnosis, while the remaining five concentrated on hemorrhagic stroke diagnosis. Findings showed that MRI was very accurate, with a sensitivity and specificity of up to 97% for ischemic stroke detection. MRI shown success in the diagnosis of hemorrhagic stroke, with a sensitivity and specificity of up to [100%]. Conclusions: MRI is a crucial tool for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke. Because of the great accuracy and sensitivity of this imaging method, both ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes may be identified. It also carefully evaluates the effects of a stroke on the brain. The early and successful diagnosis and treatment of stroke depend heavily on the use of MRI. Keywords: diagnosis, ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, and magnetic resonance imaging

Risk of admission to hospital with arterial or venous thromboembolism among patients diagnosed in the ambulatory setting with covid-19 compared with influenza: retrospective cohort study

ObjectiveTo measure the 90 day risk of arterial thromboembolism and venous thromboembolism among patients diagnosed with covid-19 in the ambulatory (ie, outpatient, emergency department, or institutional) setting during periods before...

Predictive factors for clinical outcomes in Filipino patients with watershed infarction: A single center study.

Watershed infarcts denote ischemic lesions involving the distal territories of two major arteries. For years, hypotheses on its pathophysiological mechanisms have been proposed. Yet, the cause is still widely debated. This study aimed to determine the mechanism of watershed strokes and compare their clinical outcomes to acute ischemic stroke from other causes and predict the factors affecting clinical outcomes in patients with watershed infarcts. This single-center, comparative, six-years retrospective cohort study included patients with a diagnosis of Acute Ischemic Stroke. Patients were classified under watershed group or acute ischemic stroke based on their neuroimaging findings. Stroke mechanisms were determined between groups as well as the factors associated with clinical outcomes in watershed strokes. Among the 424 patients included in the study, large artery atherosclerosis was seen in greater frequency in patients with watershed infarcts regardless of the type (EWIs: n=68, 73% vs IWIs: n=89, 75%). No differences observed in the clinical outcomes between groups. Multiple variable analysis showed that age, female sex, high NIHSS score and presence of underlying malignancy were associated with clinical outcomes. Clinical outcomes between watershed infarcts and acute ischemic strokes were similar. Hemodynamic compromise in the setting of severe stenosis is the underlying mechanism for both types of watershed strokes thus, the goal of treatment is to maintain adequate perfusion. High baseline NIHSS score, increased age, female gender and underlying malignancy were all poor predictors of clinical outcomes in patients with watershed strokes.

Recurrent Ischemic Stroke In Elderly With Polycythemia Vera: Case Report

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background&lt;/strong&gt;: Myeloproliferative disorders can rise a risk of thrombotic events. Ischemic stroke is one of presenting symptoms can be found in such patients. These coexisting conditions can burden patients with more severe complications.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Objectives&lt;/strong&gt;: To discuss a case of polycythemia vera with multiple episodes of ischemic stroke.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Case description&lt;/strong&gt;: The patient was a 70-year-old female with chief complaint of sudden rotatory dizziness with moderate to severe intensity. Nausea, vomiting, slurred speech, and facial muscle weakness were also reported. Onset of symptoms started 3 hours before hospital admission. Medical history including previous ischemic stroke in 2020 and 2015 with remaining right extremity weakness. Physical examination showed weakness, hypertension. Nystagmus horizontal bidirectional and upper motor neuron lesion of left CN VII and XII, weakness in right upper and lower extremities were observed. Physiological reflexes were increased, and pathological reflex was found. Head CT showed hypodense lesion led to her ischemic stroke diagnosis. Blood test showed increased hemoglobin count, leukocytosis but normal platelet count. Increased cell numbers and variations of size, morphology and distribution were found in peripheral smear. This finding was also supported with bone marrow examination which showed hypercellularity, panmyelosis with dysplasia of all hematopoietic lineage. Patient was diagnosed with polycythemia vera and treated accordingly.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusion&lt;/strong&gt;: Further examination of hematology, such as peripheral smear or bone marrow examination should be considered in patients with recurrent episodes of stroke to rule in underlying myeloproliferative disorders.Appropriate treatment and routine hematology&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;follow up are in need to increase awareness of future thrombotic events or leukemic transformations.&lt;/p&gt;