scholarly journals Automated Detection of Ischemic Stroke and Subsequent Patient Triage in Routinely Acquired Head CT

Author(s):  
Tom Finck ◽  
David Schinz ◽  
Lioba Grundl ◽  
Rami Eisawy ◽  
Mehmet Yiğitsoy ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Advanced machine-learning (ML) techniques can potentially detect the entire spectrum of pathology through deviations from a learned norm. We investigated the utility of a weakly supervised ML tool to detect characteristic findings related to ischemic stroke in head CT and provide subsequent patient triage. Methods Patients having undergone non-enhanced head CT at a tertiary care hospital in April 2020 with either no anomalies, subacute or chronic ischemia, lacunar infarcts of the deep white matter or hyperdense vessel signs were retrospectively analyzed. Anomaly detection was performed using a weakly supervised ML classifier. Findings were displayed on a voxel-level (heatmap) and pooled to an anomaly score. Thresholds for this score classified patients into i) normal, ii) inconclusive, iii) pathological. Expert-validated radiological reports were considered as ground truth. Test assessment was performed with ROC analysis; inconclusive results were pooled to pathological predictions for accuracy measurements. Results During the investigation period 208 patients were referred for head CT of which 111 could be included. Definite ratings into normal/pathological were feasible in 77 (69.4%) patients. Based on anomaly scores, the AUC to differentiate normal from pathological scans was 0.98 (95% CI 0.97–1.00). The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were 100%, 40.6%, 80.6% and 100%, respectively. Conclusion Our study demonstrates the potential of a weakly supervised anomaly-detection tool to detect stroke findings in head CT. Definite classification into normal/pathological was made with high accuracy in > 2/3 of patients. Anomaly heatmaps further provide guidance towards pathologies, also in cases with inconclusive ratings.

Author(s):  
Ashoka Mahapatra ◽  
K Nikitha ◽  
Sutapa Rath ◽  
Bijayini Behera ◽  
Kavita Gupta

Abstract Background Spread of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) is a significant concern in intensive care unit (ICU) settings. Approaches to routine screening for CRE colonization in all ICU patients vary depending on institutional epidemiology and resources. The present study was aimed to evaluate the performance of HiCrome Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) agar for the detection of CRE colonization in ICU settings taking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended method as reference. Methods Two-hundred and eighty rectal swabs (duplicate) from 140 patients were subjected to CRE detection in HiCrome KPC agar and MacConkey agar (CDC criteria). Results Using CDC method, total 41 CRE isolates were recovered comprising of 29 E scherichia coli, 11 Klebsiella, and 1 Enterobacter spp. On the other hand, 49 isolates of CRE recovered from 140 rectal swabs using HiCrome KPC agar, out of which 33 were E. coli, 15 Klebsiella, and 1 Enterobacter sp. Statistical Analysis Sensitivity, specificity, negative, and positive predictive values of CRE screening by HiCrome KPC agar were found to be 100% (91.4–100), 91.9% (84.8–95.8), 83.6% (70.9–91.4), and 100% (95.9–100), respectively, taking the CDC recommended method as reference. Conclusion HiCrome KPC agar has high sensitivity in screening CRE colonization. Further studies are needed to establish its applicability for detecting the predominant circulating carbapenemases in the Indian setting.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (02) ◽  
pp. 207-211
Author(s):  
Rajneesh K. Patel ◽  
Amit Kumar Choubey ◽  
Brijesh K. Soni ◽  
Rajeev Sivasankar ◽  
Vikash Chauhan

ABSTRACT Introduction: Emergency head computed tomography (CT) is rising exponentially during off working hours due to evidence-based medicine, patient’s expectation and desires, easy availability and apprehension of medico-legal cases, thereby raising health-care cost. There is huge gap in demand and supply of radiologist, especially during off working hours. There is need to know the pattern of emergency head findings. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of all emergent noncontrast CT head during off working hours in the Department of Radiodiagnosis of a Tertiary Care Hospital, Mumbai, India, which were performed from June 2017 to May 2018. CT findings of 308 patients were analyzed. Results: About 63.6% of total head CT showed no significant abnormality. The most common abnormality was intracranial hemorrhage which was just 9.1% followed by acute infarct which was 6.2%. Extradural hemorrhage, subdural hemorrhage, and subarachnoid hemorrhage was only 1% each of total head CT findings. No significant abnormality was detected in 74.65%, 70.21%, 89.13%, 31.37%, 100%, and 69.09% in cases of head injury, seizure, giddiness/dizziness/syncope, cerebrovascular accident, transient ischemic attack, and altered sensorium, respectively. Conclusion: Pattern analysis of emergent head CT reveals that most of the emergent CT head shows no significant abnormality. There is a need for stringent guidelines for emergent head CT, training of emergency physician as well as CT technician for common findings to bridge the radiologist demand-supply gap for providing effective health care in peripheral hospitals.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerardo Garza-Alatorre ◽  
Ana Luisa Carrion-Garcia ◽  
Alfredo Falcon-Delgado ◽  
Elda Carolina Garza-Davila ◽  
Angel R Martinez-Ponce de Leon ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and objectives Pediatric cerebrovascular disease carries significant morbidity and mortality. Early recognition of a pediatric stroke as well and its most common risk factors are important, but that diagnosis is often delayed. It is believed that the incidence in our center is higher than it appears. This study aims to assess the incidence and characteristics of the pediatric stroke in our university hospital. Likewise, this study seeks to evaluate if a longer symptoms-to-diagnosis time is associated with mortality in patients with ischemic stroke. Methods A retrospective study including children with stroke admitted to the UANL University Hospital from January 2013 to December 2016. Results A total of 41 patients and 46 stroke episodes were admitted. About 45.7% had an ischemic stroke and 54.3% had a hemorrhagic stroke. A mortality of 24.4% and a morbidity of 60.9% were recorded. Regarding ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, an increased symptoms-to-diagnosis time and a higher mortality were obtained with a relative risk of 2.667 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09–6.524, p = 0.013) and 8.0 (95% CI: 2.18–29.24, p = < 0.0001), respectively. A continuous increase in the incidence rate, ranging from 4.57 to 13.21 per 1,000 admissions comparing the first period (2013) versus the last period (2016), p = 0.02, was found in our center. Conclusions Pediatric stroke is a rare disease; however, its incidence shows a continuous increase. More awareness toward pediatric stroke is needed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-71
Author(s):  
Dipesh Shakya ◽  
Rabindra Shrestha ◽  
Krishna Dhungana ◽  
Raisha Kafle ◽  
Sabnam Bhatta

Background: Stroke is a disabling condition that has physical and mental impact on a patient’s life. Stroke is an important morbidity for low and middle income countries like Nepal. Hypertension, diabetes, smoking, and dyslipidemia are common risk factors in this regard and are inadequately controlled; mainly because of poor public awareness, inadequate infrastructure, lack of service and qualified manpower.Objectives: This study aims to provide insight into the epidemiology and risk factors in ischemic stroke patients.Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in 92 ischemic stroke patients at a tertiary care hospital Kathmandu Medical College and Teaching Hospital (KMCTH), Sinamangal, Nepal from December 2017 to June 2018. Consecutive sampling technique was used and data was collected from ischemic stroke patients above 14 years of age who were admitted in the Department of Neurology. Information regarding pre-morbid and morbid conditions, imaging findings as well as results was obtained from biochemical analysis of blood after taking consent from the patient or patient’s relative. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Version 20 was used as a tool for statistical analysis.Results: Their mean age was 63.25 years with standard deviation of 16.45. Dyslipidemia was the most commonly found risk factor which was present in 77.2% of the subjects, followed by smoking (59.8%), presence of carotid artery atherosclerosis (59.8%), hypertension (50%), atrial fibrillation (26.1%) and diabetes mellitus(15.2%). Smoking was significant in males and heart disease was mostly seen in females.Conclusion: Dyslipidemia and smoking were the most common risk factors followed by carotid artery atherosclerosis. Patients with hypertension and dyslipidemia had higher incidence of stroke in both young and elderly group.


2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (08) ◽  
pp. 925-931
Author(s):  
Dr. Ramesh Kumar ◽  
Dr. Muhammad Iqbal shah ◽  
Dr. Manzoor Ali Lakhair ◽  
Dr. Zaheer Memon

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0251618
Author(s):  
Jyoti Jain ◽  
Pooja Jadhao ◽  
Shashank Banait ◽  
Preetam Salunkhe

India has been engaged in tuberculosis (TB) control activities for over 50 years and yet TB continues to remain India’s important public health problem. The present study was conducted to compare the performance of GeneXpert MTB/RIF (GXpert) assay with composite reference standard in diagnosing cases of tubercular pleural effusion (TPE) and to evaluate the reliability of rifampicin resistance. A cross-sectional study was performed in a Department of Medicine of a rural teaching tertiary care hospital in central India. In all consecutive patients with pleural effusion on chest radiograph presenting to Department of Medicine, GXpert assay and composite reference standard was performed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of GXpert assay for detecting TPE in comparison to composite reference standard. Standard formulae were used to calculate the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values (PPV), negative predictive values (NPV), positive likelihood ratios (LR+) and negative likelihood ratios (LR-). Mc-Nemar’s test was applied to compare variables. All comparisons were two-tailed. We considered the difference to be statistically significant if the P value was less than 0.05. The sensitivity of the GXpert assay in diagnosing TPE was 16.6% among 158 study participants, the specificity was 100% and diagnostic accuracy was 52.5% which was statistically significant (p value < 0.05). It had a PPV of 100% (95%CI: 88.3% - 100%) and a NPV of 47.5% (95%CI: 39.3% - 55.7%). The LR+ and LR-were 23.5 (95%CI: 1.43–38.6) and 0.83 (95%CI: 0.76–0.91) respectively. GXpert assay has a very high specificity in diagnosing TPE but has a low sensitivity. In comparison to composite reference standard Thus its clinical utility is limited when used as a standalone test. A physician’s clinical acumen in combination with routine pleural fluid analysis should be the key factor in the diagnosis of TPE in clinically and radiologically suspected patients, especially in high TB burden countries.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Mohammed Qutub ◽  
Prasanth Govindan ◽  
Anupama Vattappillil

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a two-step algorithm for the detection of Clostridium difficile infection. Setting and Design: A two-step testing algorithm was evaluated for testing stool samples from patients suspected of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). A total of 103 stool specimens were tested using the C. diff Quik Chek Complete enzyme immunoassay (EIA) test and the Xpert C. difficile PCR test. A two-step algorithm was implemented, and data from 3518 patient samples tested during a two-year period after implementation were analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values (PPV, NPV) of the Quik Chek Complete EIA test were calculated using the Xpert C. difficile PCR test as a reference method. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of the Quik Chek Complete EIA test for C. difficile toxin were 46.7%, 100%, 100%, and 91%, respectively. The two-step algorithm, which combined the Quik Chek Complete EIA with Xpert C. difficile PCR, improved the sensitivity and also provided rapid detection. When algorithm-based testing was performed daily, there was a 66% reduction in turnaround time compared to batch testing using a lengthy ELISA procedure. Postimplementation data analysis showed that almost 89% of the samples could be reported immediately by initial screening with Quik Chek Complete EIA. Only 11% of the samples gave discrepant results and required PCR confirmation. According to our results, the two-step algorithm is an effective tool for the rapid and reliable detection of toxigenic C. difficile from stool samples.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1302-1304
Author(s):  
A. Malik ◽  
A. Akhtar ◽  
F. F Jang ◽  
M. Uthman

Background: Albuminuria is thought to be a separate risk factor for stroke. A strong association between diabetes related albuminuria and stroke has been published in the international literature. Albuminuria being a sign of endothelial dysfunction, atherosclerosis is a strong predictor of strokes. Aim: To investigate the albuminuria as a predictor of stroke in diabetics in our population. Study design: Observational study. Place and duration of study: This study was done in the Department of Neurology, Sharif Medical & Dental College/Hospital, Lahore from January to August 2019. Methodology: One hundred and fifty diabetic patients having ages 25 to 75 years presented with stroke were enrolled in this study. Demographics (age, sex, residence and socio-economic status) of the included population and types of stroke were recorded on study proforma after getting brain CT of each patient. Urine for albuminuria was examined under microscope. Results: In this study (63%) were males and 37% were females with M:F ratio 2.54:1. Major portion of the patients (43%) were ages between 25-45 years mean±SD 51.62±8.45. Ischemic stroke was found in 114 (76%) hemorrhagic in 24(16%) and undetermined in 12(8%) patients respectively. Albuminuria was found in 72(48%) patients, Group A 40(69%) had ischemic stroke, 10(17%) had hemorrhagic and 8(14%) had undetermined stroke. Conclusion: It is concluded that is strong relation between microvascular complications with macrovascular complication of diabetes (i.e. albuminuria with stroke). The stoke patients with diabetes has more frequency of albuminuria as compared to non diabetics. Keywords: Albuminuria, T2DM, Stroke, Hemorrhagic.


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