scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 on Neurological Manifestations: An Overview of Stroke Presentation in Pandemic.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nida Fatima ◽  
Maher Saqqur ◽  
Ashfaq Shauib

Abstract Introduction: Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has become a globally challenging issue after its emergence in December 2019 from Wuhan, China. Despite its common presentation as respiratory distress, patients with COVID-19 have also shown neurological manifestation especially stroke. Therefore, the authors sought to determine the etiology, underlying risk factors, and outcomes among patients with COVID-19 presenting with stroke. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the electronic database (PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Medline, EMBASE, and Cochrane library) using different MeSH terms from January 2000 to June 2020. Results: A total of 39 patients with stroke from 6 studies were included. The mean age of our included patients was 61.4±14.2 years. Majority of the patients (92.3%) with COVID-19 had ischemic stroke, 5.1% had hemorrhagic stroke, and 2.6% had cerebral venous thrombosis at the time of initial clinical presentation. Almost all of the patients presented had underlying risk factors predisposing to stroke which included, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and previous history of cerebrovascular disease. 51.2% of the included patients infected with COVID-19 with stroke died, while remaining patients were either discharged home or transferred to a rehabilitation unit. Conclusion: Exploring the neurological manifestation in terms of stroke among patients with COVID-19 is a step towards better understanding of the virus, preventing further spread, and treating the patients affected by this pandemic.

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 923
Author(s):  
Sandro Ninni ◽  
Gilles Lemesle ◽  
Thibaud Meurice ◽  
Olivier Tricot ◽  
Nicolas Lamblin ◽  
...  

Introduction: Incident heart failure (HF), ischemic stroke and systemic embolism (IS/SE), and major bleeding related to anticoagulation therapy are still the most frequent events occurring in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The aim of this study was to assess the 3-year incidence, predictors, and related mortality of IS/SE, major bleeding, and HF in a large cohort of AF outpatients. Methods and results: We studied 4973 outpatients with prevalent AF included in the CARDIONOR registry. The mean age was 72.9 ± 11.2 years, 24.1% had diabetes mellitus and 78.9% had anticoagulant therapy at baseline. The mean CHA2DS2Vasc score was 3.4 ± 1.7. After a median follow-up of 3.2 years (IQR: 2.8 to 3.5), incident HF, IS/SE and major bleeding occurred in 10.5%, 3.3% and 2.1% of patients, respectively. When analyzed as time-dependent variables, IS/SE, major bleeding and hospitalization for decompensated HF were all strongly associated with mortality. The independent predictors of incident HF were age, women, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease and a previous history of HF. A sensitivity analysis in patients without history of HF at inclusion revealed that incident HF remained the most frequent adverse event, occurring in 5.3% of patients, compared to IS/SE (1.7%) and major bleeding (2.5%). Conclusion: HF is a common residual cardiovascular adverse event occurring in AF outpatients and is associated with a very high mortality. Since modifiable risk factors are associated with incident HF, upstream intensive management of these risk factors would be of interest.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 178
Author(s):  
Noah R. Delapaz ◽  
William K. Hor ◽  
Michael Gilbert ◽  
Andrew D. La ◽  
Feiran Liang ◽  
...  

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent mental disorder marked by psychological and behavioral changes. Currently, there is no consensus of preferred antipsychotics to be used for the treatment of PTSD. We aim to discover whether certain antipsychotics have decreased suicide risk in the PTSD population, as these patients may be at higher risk. A total of 38,807 patients were identified with a diagnosis of PTSD through the ICD9 or ICD10 codes from January 2004 to October 2019. An emulation of randomized clinical trials was conducted to compare the outcomes of suicide-related events (SREs) among PTSD patients who ever used one of eight individual antipsychotics after the diagnosis of PTSD. Exclusion criteria included patients with a history of SREs and a previous history of antipsychotic use within one year before enrollment. Eligible individuals were assigned to a treatment group according to the antipsychotic initiated and followed until stopping current treatment, switching to another same class of drugs, death, or loss to follow up. The primary outcome was to identify the frequency of SREs associated with each antipsychotic. SREs were defined as ideation, attempts, and death by suicide. Pooled logistic regression methods with the Firth option were conducted to compare two drugs for their outcomes using SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA). The results were adjusted for baseline characteristics and post-baseline, time-varying confounders. A total of 5294 patients were eligible for enrollment with an average follow up of 7.86 months. A total of 157 SREs were recorded throughout this study. Lurasidone showed a statistically significant decrease in SREs when compared head to head to almost all the other antipsychotics: aripiprazole, haloperidol, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, and ziprasidone (p < 0.0001 and false discovery rate-adjusted p value < 0.0004). In addition, olanzapine was associated with higher SREs than quetiapine and risperidone, and ziprasidone was associated with higher SREs than risperidone. The results of this study suggest that certain antipsychotics may put individuals within the PTSD population at an increased risk of SREs, and that careful consideration may need to be taken when prescribed.


1970 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
AM Hossain ◽  
NU Ahmed ◽  
M Rahman ◽  
MR Islam ◽  
G Sadhya ◽  
...  

A hospital based cross sectional study was carried out to analyze prevalence of risk factors for stroke in hospitalized patient in a medical college hospital. 100 patients were chosen using purposive sampling technique. Highest incidence of stroke was between the 6th and 7th decade. Patients came from both urban (54%) and rural (46%) areas and most of them belong to the low-income group (47%). In occupational category; service holder (28%) and retired person (21%) were the highest groups. Most of the study subjects were literate (63%). CT scan study revealed that the incidence of ischaemic stroke was 61% and haemorrhagic stroke 39%. Analysis indicated hypertension as major risk factor for stroke (63%) and major portion of the patients (42.85%) were on irregular or no treatment. Twenty four percent of the patients had heart diseases and out of 24 patients 45.83% were suffering from ischaemic heart disease. The present study detected diabetes in 21% patients. Fifty three percent of the study subjects were smoker, 39% patients had habit of betelnut chewing. Out of 26 female patients, only 23% had history of using oral contraceptives. Majority of the patients were sedentary workers (46%). Thirty seven percent of the stroke patients were obese. Among the stroke patients 9% had previous history of stroke and 3% had TIA respectively. Most of the patients (21%) were awake while they suffered from stroke and the time of occurrence was mostly in the afternoon (46%). This study found that hypertension, cigarette smoking, ischaemic heart disease and diabetes mellitus are the major risk factors prevalent in our community while other risk factors demand further study. Key words: stroke; risk factors; hospitalized patients; Bangladesh. DOI: 10.3329/fmcj.v6i1.7405 Faridpur Med. Coll. J. 2011;6(1): 19-23


Neurology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 96 (15) ◽  
pp. e2006-e2015
Author(s):  
Nicolas Collongues ◽  
Cecilia Alves Do Rego ◽  
Bertrand Bourre ◽  
Damien Biotti ◽  
Romain Marignier ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo analyze the effects of pregnancy on neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) according to patients' serostatus and immunosuppressive therapy (IST).MethodsWe performed a retrospective multicenter international study on patients with NMOSD. Patients were tested for aquaporin-4 (AQP4) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibodies (Ab). Informative pregnancies were reported when NMOSD onset occurred before or during pregnancy or up to 12 months postpartum. The mean annualized relapse rate (ARR) was calculated for the 12 months before conception, for each trimester of pregnancy, and postpartum. Events such as miscarriage, abortion, and preeclampsia were reported. IST was considered if taken in the 3 months before or during pregnancy.ResultsWe included 89 pregnancies (46 with AQP4-Ab, 30 with MOG-Ab, and 13 without either Ab) in 58 patients with NMOSD. Compared to the prepregnancy period, the ARR was lower during pregnancy in each serostatus group and higher during the postpartum period in patients with AQP4-Ab (p < 0.01). Forty-eight percent (n = 31) of pregnancies occurred during IST and these patients presented fewer relapses during pregnancy and the 12 months postpartum than untreated patients (26% vs 53%, p = 0.04). Miscarriages occurred in 10 (11%) pregnancies, and were mainly in patients with AQP4-Ab (with or without IST) and a previous history of miscarriage. Preeclampsia was reported in 2 (2%) patients who were AQP4-Ab-positive.ConclusionWe found a rebound in the ARR during the first postpartum trimester that was higher than the prepregnancy period only in AQP4-Ab-positive patients. Taking IST just before or during pregnancy reduces the risk of relapses in these conditions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 12-17
Author(s):  
Basavaraj PG ◽  
Ashok P Yenkanchi ◽  
Chidanand Galagali

Background: Risk factors can lead to clinical conditions, like metabolic syndrome, that predisposes the development of cardiovascular diseases. Objective: The goal of this population-based, prospective and non-randomised cohort study was to study the association between patients with metabolic syndrome and other various factors defining metabolic syndrome. Methods: All the patients referred to the department of Medicine, Al-Ameen Medical college hospital and District Hospital, Vijayapur, Karnataka, India over a period of twenty-two months extending from December 2013 to September 2015 were considered in this study. Results: In the current study, out of 100 patients, 62.9% patients had metabolic syndrome with positive family history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus. 70.8% patients had metabolic syndrome with positive history of smoking. 64.3% patients had metabolic syndrome with positive history of alcohol .73.9% patients had metabolic syndrome with positive history of IHD. 87% of the patients with metabolic syndrome had SBP> 130 mmHg, and 78.85% patients had DBP>85 mmHg. And metabolic syndrome was observed in 71.8% patients on anti hypertensive drugs. The mean level of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglyceride is increased whereas the mean level of anti-atherogenic HDL cholesterol is low in subjects with MS. At least one lipid abnormality was present in > 95 % of cases. Around 81% subjects with BMI <25 (out of 38) had metabolic syndrome and 58% subjects with BMI>25(out of 62) had metabolic syndrome. Conclusion: All the components defining the metabolic syndrome correlated positively with the abdominal obesity. Systolic blood pressure values were significantly higher than diastolic blood pressure in subjects with abdominal obesity. Metabolic syndrome has multiple risk factors determined by various aspects like the race, the life style, geographical factors larger study is needed to understand the correlation between various components defining it. A healthy lifestyle, that includes avoiding tobacco exposure and proper weight control, must be encouraged in this high-risk population. Keywords: Cardiovascular diseases; Overweight; Risk factors; Smoking.


Author(s):  
Suher Dafaus ◽  
Amel Morgham ◽  
Nasreen Osman

Background and objective. Preeclampsia is a multisystemic disorder, which involves the placenta, liver, blood, neurological and cardiovascular systems. It is one of the leading causes of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. This study aimed at describing the characteristic features for mothers who had severe preeclampsia and to know the complications during puerperium. Methods. A prospective study conducted over a period from February 2009 up to November 2009 involving 100 pre-eclampsia patients admitted and delivered in Aljalaa Maternity Hospital, Tripoli, Libya. Results. The patients mean age was 33.3 +5.9 years. The mean gestational age at admission time was 36.8+3.2 weeks and 64% of them were term. 58% of the patients with severe preeclampsia had a positive family history of chronic hypertension whereas 42% of patients had a previous history of preeclampsia. 40% of patients were primigravida. The mean systolic blood pressure at admission was 164+15.4 mmHg and the mean diastolic pressure was 113+6 mmHg. The common symptoms were headache, abdominal pain, and blurred vision (54%, 37%, and 31% respectively), whereas 9% of the patients presented with the eclamptic fit. The pregnancy in 66% patients ended by caesarean section, 78% of them were emergency caesarean section. The birth weight of 13% of new-borns was less than 1500 grams. Furthermore, 10% diagnosed with intrauterine fetal death (IUFD) antenatally and 9% died after admission to nursery intensive care unit post-delivery. Conclusion. the effects of hypertensive disorder associated with pregnancy could be prevented by close antenatal care particularly for whose had previous history of preeclampsia. In addition; early recognition and adequate treatment, and timely delivery can prevent preeclampsia and will improve maternal and neonatal outcomes.


Author(s):  
Mohammad Saqib Siddiqui ◽  
Abdulaziz Fehaid Alotaibi ◽  
Fahad Mohammed Saeed Alharthi ◽  
Abdullatif Meshal Almalawi ◽  
Ahmed Zayed Asiri ◽  
...  

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease with a remarkable global burden on the affected patients and healthcare systems. Among the reported complications, the diabetic foot has been reported to be a common one, which might be disabling, resulting in related amputations. Furthermore, we will provide evidence regarding the effect of education on the awareness and knowledge of diabetic Saudis about diabetic foot risk factors and management practices. Different risk factors were reported for developing diabetic foot among patients with DM. These will be studied in the current literature review, focusing on evidence that was conducted in Saudi Arabia. Age, gender, type of diabetes, education, duration of the disease, peripheral neuropathy, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, peripheral vascular disease, ischemic heart disease, renal artery disease, having a previous history of diabetic foot, and hypertension were all reported to be significant factors that were associated with the risk of developing diabetic foot across the Kingdom. The level of knowledge was variable across the different investigations. However, there is a poor attitude in general about the appropriate care practices of diabetic foot. Although it has been demonstrated that educational campaigns are effective, further efforts are still needed to increase awareness and attitude levels among diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia.


2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 292-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hansen Deng ◽  
Andrew K. Chan ◽  
Simon G. Ammanuel ◽  
Alvin Y. Chan ◽  
Taemin Oh ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVESurgical site infection (SSI) following spine surgery causes major morbidity and greatly impedes functional recovery. In the modern era of advanced operative techniques and improved perioperative care, SSI remains a problematic complication that may be reduced with institutional practices. The objectives of this study were to 1) characterize the SSI rate and microbial etiology following spine surgery for various thoracolumbar diseases, and 2) identify risk factors that were associated with SSI despite current perioperative management.METHODSAll patients treated with thoracic or lumbar spine operations on the neurosurgery service at the University of California, San Francisco from April 2012 to April 2016 were formally reviewed for SSI using the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) guidelines. Preoperative risk variables included age, sex, BMI, smoking, diabetes mellitus (DM), coronary artery disease (CAD), ambulatory status, history of malignancy, use of preoperative chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) showers, and the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification. Operative variables included surgical pathology, resident involvement, spine level and surgical technique, instrumentation, antibiotic and steroid use, estimated blood loss (EBL), and operative time. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate predictors for SSI. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were reported.RESULTSIn total, 2252 consecutive patients underwent thoracolumbar spine surgery. The mean patient age was 58.6 ± 13.8 years and 49.6% were male. The mean hospital length of stay was 6.6 ± 7.4 days. Sixty percent of patients had degenerative conditions, and 51.9% underwent fusions. Sixty percent of patients utilized presurgery CHG showers. The mean operative duration was 3.7 ± 2 hours, and the mean EBL was 467 ± 829 ml. Compared to nonfusion patients, fusion patients were older (mean 60.1 ± 12.7 vs 57.1 ± 14.7 years, p < 0.001), were more likely to have an ASA classification > II (48.0% vs 36.0%, p < 0.001), and experienced longer operative times (252.3 ± 120.9 minutes vs 191.1 ± 110.2 minutes, p < 0.001). Eleven patients had deep SSI (0.49%), and the most common causative organisms were methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Patients with CAD (p = 0.003) or DM (p = 0.050), and those who were male (p = 0.006), were predictors of increased odds of SSI, and presurgery CHG showers (p = 0.001) were associated with decreased odds of SSI.CONCLUSIONSThis institutional experience over a 4-year period revealed that the overall rate of SSI by the NHSN criteria was low at 0.49% following thoracolumbar surgery. This was attributable to the implementation of presurgery optimization, and intraoperative and postoperative measures to prevent SSI across the authors’ institution. Despite prevention measures, having a history of CAD or DM, and being male, were risk factors associated with increased SSI, and presurgery CHG shower utilization decreased SSI risk in patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Jahangiry ◽  
Mahdieh Abbasalizad Farhangi ◽  
Mahdi Najafi ◽  
Parvin Sarbakhsh

Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the major cause of mortality in the world with a significant impact on the younger population. The aim of this study was to identify prematurity among patients with coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) based on the clustering of CHD risk factors.Methods: Patients were recruited from an existing cohort of candidates for CABG surgery named Tehran Heart Center Coronary Outcome Measurement (THC-COM). A latent class analysis (LCA) model was formed using 11 potential risk factors as binary variables: cigarette smoking, obesity, diabetes, family history of CHD, alcohol use, opium addiction, hypertension, history of stroke, history of myocardial infarction (MI), peripheral vascular disease (PVD), and hyperlipidemia (HLP). We analyzed our data to figure out how the patients are going to be clustered based on their risk factors.Results: For 566 patients who were studied, the mean age (SD) and BMI of patients were 59.1 (8.9) and 27.3 (4.1), respectively. The LCA model fit with two latent classes was statistically significant (G2 = 824.87, df = 21, p &lt; 0.0001). The mean (SD) age of patients for Class I and Class II was 55.66 (8.55) and 60.87 (8.66), respectively. Class I (premature) was characterized by a high probability of smoking, alcohol consumption, opium addiction, and a history of MI (P &lt; 0.05), and class II by a high probability of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.Conclusion: Latent class analysis calculated two groups of severe CHD with distinct risk markers. The younger group, which is characterized by smoking, addiction, and the history of MI, can be regarded as representative of premature CHD.


Author(s):  
Juan Rodado ◽  
Irine Aragon

Background: Acute confusional syndrome is a current problem of special relevance among elderlypatients admitted to hospital medical services. The determination of its risk factors is an essential process in the development and implementation of programs to prevent this complication. Methods: With the mentioned aim we have carried out this case-control study as an analytical, observational, retrospective and transversal study, whose source population was integrated by 60 patients over age 65 according to inclusion and exclusion criteria and divided into two groups: with and without delirium. Discussion: Our analysis has confirmed the association between these factors and delirium: illness severity; previous history of Delirium (OR 10.6); mental status (OR 7.3); high risk medications (OR 6.9); renal failure (OR 6.5); medication at risk added (OR 6); physical status (OR 5.2); use of neuroleptics (OR5.1); anemia (OR 4.75); sodium alterations (OR 4.5); urinary catheter (OR 3.8); low albumin (OR 3.7); infection (OR 3.1). Conclusion: There is no relationship proved between acute confusional syndrom and the following factors: use of benzodiazepines, aggressive procedures, immobility, old age, dementia, diminished ADL skills, co-morbidity and polypharmacy, even if they have been identified as risk factors in previous studies. Hence, these results should be interpreted with caution.


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