Despite decades of research, cerebral vasospasm (CV) continues to account for high morbidity and mortality in patients who survive their initial aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.
To define the ...scope of the problem and review key treatment strategies that have shaped the way CV is managed in the contemporary era.
A literature search was performed of CV management after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Recent advances in neuroimaging have led to improved detection of vasospasm, but established treatment guidelines including hemodynamic augmentation and interventional procedures remain highly variable among neurosurgical centers. Experimental research in subarachnoid hemorrhage continues to identify novel targets for therapy.
Proactive and preventive strategies such as oral nimodipine and endovascular rescue therapies can reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with CV.
Trials of endovascular therapy for ischemic stroke have produced variable results. We conducted this study to test whether more advanced imaging selection, recently developed devices, and earlier ...intervention improve outcomes.
We randomly assigned patients with ischemic stroke who were receiving 0.9 mg of alteplase per kilogram of body weight less than 4.5 hours after the onset of ischemic stroke either to undergo endovascular thrombectomy with the Solitaire FR (Flow Restoration) stent retriever or to continue receiving alteplase alone. All the patients had occlusion of the internal carotid or middle cerebral artery and evidence of salvageable brain tissue and ischemic core of less than 70 ml on computed tomographic (CT) perfusion imaging. The coprimary outcomes were reperfusion at 24 hours and early neurologic improvement (≥8-point reduction on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale or a score of 0 or 1 at day 3). Secondary outcomes included the functional score on the modified Rankin scale at 90 days.
The trial was stopped early because of efficacy after 70 patients had undergone randomization (35 patients in each group). The percentage of ischemic territory that had undergone reperfusion at 24 hours was greater in the endovascular-therapy group than in the alteplase-only group (median, 100% vs. 37%; P<0.001). Endovascular therapy, initiated at a median of 210 minutes after the onset of stroke, increased early neurologic improvement at 3 days (80% vs. 37%, P=0.002) and improved the functional outcome at 90 days, with more patients achieving functional independence (score of 0 to 2 on the modified Rankin scale, 71% vs. 40%; P=0.01). There were no significant differences in rates of death or symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage.
In patients with ischemic stroke with a proximal cerebral arterial occlusion and salvageable tissue on CT perfusion imaging, early thrombectomy with the Solitaire FR stent retriever, as compared with alteplase alone, improved reperfusion, early neurologic recovery, and functional outcome. (Funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and others; EXTEND-IA ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01492725, and Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number, ACTRN12611000969965.).
Up to 20% of patients fail to achieve reperfusion with modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction (mTICI) scores of 0–1 after mechanical thrombectomy (MT). Furthermore, underlying intracranial ...atherosclerotic disease, particularly when associated with >70% residual or flow limiting stenosis, is associated with higher rates of failed MT and high failure risk MT. The aim of this study was to systematically review the procedural and clinical outcomes in patients with failed MT and high failure risk MT. We also explored differences between patients receiving acute rescue stenting compared with medical management alone.
A systematic literature search was conducted in Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane online scientific publication databases for English language publications from their date of inception until October 2018. Studies including adult patients with acute ischemic stroke because of emergent large vessel occlusion with failed (mTICI score 0–1) or high failure risk MT within the anterior circulation who underwent rescue stenting were included. A systematic review and meta-analysis of proportions was performed.
Rescue intracranial stenting after failed MT or high failure risk MT results in improved clinical outcomes compared with patients without stenting (48.5% vs. 19.7%, respectively; P < 0.001), without an increase in the rate of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, despite additional use of antiplatelet agents (9.7% vs. 14.1%, respectively; P = 0.04).
In patients who fail initial attempts at MT or are high risk for acute reocclusion, rescue intracranial stenting could be considered with the aim to improve functional outcomes. Antiplatelet agents do not increase the risk of hemorrhage in these patients.
Objectives
DCI and hydrocephalus are the most common complications that predict poor outcomes after aSAH. The relationship between sex, DCI and hydrocephalus are not well established; thus, we aimed ...to examine sex differences in DCI and hydrocephalus following aSAH in a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Methods
A systematic search was conducted using the PubMed, Scopus and Medline databases from inception to August 2022 to identify cohort, case control, case series and clinical studies reporting sex and DCI, acute and chronic shunt-dependent hydrocephalus (SDHC). Random-effects meta-analysis was used to pool estimates for available studies.
Results
There were 56 studies with crude estimates for DCI and meta-analysis showed that women had a greater risk for DCI than men (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.11–1.39). The meta-analysis for adjusted estimates for 9 studies also showed an association between sex and DCI (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.27–2.05). For acute hydrocephalus, only 9 studies were included, and meta-analysis of unadjusted estimates showed no association with sex (OR 0.95, 95%CI 0.78–1.16). For SDHC, a meta-analysis of crude estimates from 53 studies showed that women had a somewhat greater risk of developing chronic hydrocephalus compared to men (OR 1.14, 95% CI 0.99–1.31). In meta-analysis for adjusted estimates from 5 studies, no association of sex with SDHC was observed (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.57–1.33).
Conclusions
Female sex is associated with the development of DCI; however, an association between sex and hydrocephalus was not detected. Strategies to target females to reduce the development of DCI may decrease overall morbidity and mortality after aSAH.
Background
Up to 70% of multiple myeloma (MM) patients develop vertebral metastasis and subsequent pathological vertebral fractures (PVF). With contemporary systemic therapies, life expectancy of MM ...patients has improved drastically, and the need to manage pain and associated disability from PVF is increasingly a high priority. The aim of this review is to provide an updated comprehensive synthesis of evidence in the use of vertebral augmentation, including percutaneous vertebroplasty (PV) and balloon kyphoplasty (BKP), to treat MM-related PVF.
Methods
A comprehensive multi-database search in accordance with PRISMA guidelines was performed up to 10 February 2021. Relevant English language articles were selected and critically reviewed.
Findings
A total of 23 clinical studies have been included in the review. PV and BKP showed significant pain and functional improvements in terms of analgesia requirements, Cervical Spine Function Score, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group scale, EQ-5D score, Karnofsky score, Neck Pain Disability Index, Oswestry Disability Index, Short form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire and VAS pain scale. Both procedures also reported promising radiographic outcomes in terms of vertebral height improvement, maintenance and restoration, as well as kyphotic deformity correction. Asymptomatic cement leakage was commonly reported. There was no significant difference between the two procedures.
Conclusion
PV and BKP are safe and effective procedure that offers pain relief, reduction in pain associated disability and reduction of fracture incidence. Its minimally invasive approach is associated with minimal morbidity risk, making it a viable option in frail patients.
Level of evidence IV
Narrative review.
Background and Purpose- Endovascular thrombectomy is highly effective in acute ischemic stroke patients with an anterior circulation large vessel occlusion (LVO), decreasing morbidity and mortality. ...Accurate and prompt identification of LVOs is imperative because these patients have large volumes of tissue that are at risk of infarction without timely reperfusion, and the treatment window is limited to 24 hours. We assessed the accuracy and speed of a commercially available fully automated LVO-detection tool in a cohort of patients presenting to a regional hospital with suspected stroke. Methods- Consecutive patients who underwent multimodal computed tomography with thin-slice computed tomography angiography between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2018 for suspected acute ischemic stroke within 24 hours of onset were retrospectively identified. The multimodal computed tomographies were assessed by 2 neuroradiologists in consensus for the presence of an intracranial anterior circulation LVO or M2-segment middle cerebral artery occlusion (the reference standard). The patients' computed tomography angiographies were then processed using an automated LVO-detection algorithm (RAPID CTA). Receiver-operating characteristic analysis was used to determine sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value of the algorithm for detection of (1) an LVO and (2) either an LVO or M2-segment middle cerebral artery occlusion. Results- CTAs from 477 patients were analyzed (271 men and 206 women; median age, 71; IQR, 60-80). Median processing time was 158 seconds (IQR, 150-167 seconds). Seventy-eight patients had an anterior circulation LVO, and 28 had an isolated M2-segment middle cerebral artery occlusion. The sensitivity, negative predictive value, and specificity were 0.94, 0.98, and 0.76, respectively for detection of an intracranial LVO and 0.92, 0.97, and 0.81, respectively for detection of either an intracranial LVO or M2-segment middle cerebral artery occlusion. Conclusions- The fully automated algorithm had very high sensitivity and negative predictive value for LVO detection with fast processing times, suggesting that it can be used in the emergent setting as a screening tool to alert radiologists and expedite formal diagnosis.
Background and Purpose- The computed tomography angiographic spot sign refers to contrast leakage within intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). It has been proposed as a surrogate radiological marker for ...ICH growth. We conducted a meta-analysis to study the accuracy of the spot sign for predicting ICH growth and mortality. Methods- PubMed, Medline, conference proceedings, and article references in English up to June 2017 were searched for studies reporting "computed tomography angiography" and "spot sign" or "intracerebral hemorrhage" and "spot sign." Each study was ranked on 27 criteria resulting in a quality rating score. Bivariate random effect meta-analysis was used to calculate positive and negative likelihood ratios and area under summary receiver operating characteristics curve for ICH growth and mortality. Hematoma growth was defined using the change in ≥6 mL or ≥33% increase in volume. Results- There were 26 studies describing 5085 patients, including 15 studies not used in previous meta-analyses. Positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio for ICH growth were 4.85 (95% CI, 3.85-6.02; I
=76.1%) and 0.49 (95% CI, 0.40-0.58) and mortality were 4.65 (95% CI, 3.67-5.90) and 0.55 (95% CI, 0.40-0.69), respectively. For ICH growth, the pooled sensitivity was 0.57 (95% CI, 0.49-0.64) and pooled false positive rate was 0.12 (95% CI, 0.09-0.14). The post-test probability of ICH growth was 0.57. The area under the curve for ICH growth and mortality was 0.86 and 0.87 (CIs are not provided in bivariate method). Meta-regression showed sensitivity of the test to decline significantly with subsequent year of publication (β=-0.148; 95% CI, -0.295 to -0.001; P=0.05). Higher quality assessment is associated with lower false positive rate (β=-0.074; 95% CI, -0.126 to -0.022; P=0.006). Conclusions- The high area under the curve potentially suggests that the spot sign can predict hematoma growth and mortality. Caution is recommended in its application given the heterogeneity across studies, which is appropriate given the data.
Fever in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) has been associated with delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI), but its relevance in risk stratification has not been explored. This study investigated ...whether early temperature elevation following aSAH predicts impending clinical deterioration caused by DCI.
Relevant cases were identified from a prospectively maintained database for consecutive patients with aSAH treated at our center between July 2015 and January 2020. Temperature readings obtained every 2 hours for individual patients from admission through day 14 were recorded and analyzed. Demographic, clinical, treatment, and angiographic data were extracted from the electronic medical record. The primary end point was the occurrence of DCI (clinical and radiographic vasospasm). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to account for patient age, smoking status, and VASOGRADE classification.
The study included 175 patients (124 women) with aSAH. The median age at diagnosis was 55.4 years (range, 20.5–87.2 years). Clinical DCI occurred in 58 patients; 2 (1.1%) responded to hemodynamic augmentation, and 56 (32.0%) required intra-arterial therapy. Temperature graphs showed a marked divergence on day 4 between clinical DCI and non-DCI groups (1.12°C ± 0.15°C and 0.76°C ± 0.08°C, respectively, P = 0.007). Patients with temperature elevation ≥2.5°C on day 4 or 5 compared with their admission temperature were more likely to clinically deteriorate owing to DCI (odds ratio 4.55, 95% confidence interval 1.31–15.77, P = 0.017).
Temperature elevation of ≥2.5°C on day 4 or 5 compared with baseline suggests a greater risk of clinical deterioration owing to DCI.
Background
Women are over-represented in aSAH cohorts, but whether their outcomes differ to men remains unclear. We examined if sex differences in neurological complications and aneurysm ...characteristics contributed to aSAH outcomes.
Methods
In a retrospective cohort (2010–2016) of all aSAH cases across two hospital networks in Australia, information on severity, aneurysm characteristics and neurological complications (rebleed before/after treatment, postoperative stroke < 48 h, neurological infections, hydrocephalus, seizures, delayed cerebral ischemia DCI, cerebral infarction) were extracted. We estimated sex differences in (1) complications and aneurysm characteristics using chi square/t-tests and (2) outcome at discharge (home, rehabilitation or death) using multinomial regression with and without propensity score matching on prestroke confounders.
Results
Among 577 cases (69% women, 84% treated) aneurysm size was greater in men than women and DCI more common in women than men. In unadjusted log multinomial regression, women had marginally greater discharge to rehabilitation (RRR 1.15 95% CI 0.90–1.48) and similar likelihood of in-hospital death (RRR 1.02 95% CI 0.76–1.36) versus discharge home. Prestroke confounders (age, hypertension, smoking status) explained greater risk of death in women (rehabilitation RRR 1.13 95% CI 0.87–1.48; death RRR 0.75 95% CI 0.51–1.10). Neurological complications (DCI and hydrocephalus) were covariates explaining some of the greater risk for poor outcomes in women (rehabilitation RRR 0.87 95% CI 0.69–1.11; death RRR 0.80 95% CI 0.52–1.23). Results were consistent in propensity score matched models.
Conclusion
The marginally poorer outcome in women at discharge was partially attributable to prestroke confounders and complications. Improvements in managing complications could improve outcomes.
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