scholarly journals A review on covid-19 and acute ischemic stroke, malignant cerebral edema & decompressive hemicraniectomy: A perfect storm; tackling this crisis by understanding it

Author(s):  
Ardavan Ahmadvand ◽  
◽  
Hamidreza Seifmanesh ◽  
Maryam Ghandali ◽  
Ali Afrasiabi ◽  
...  

Since the world was hit by novel coronavirus pandemic, so many challenges for all healthcare providers have been arisen. It is safe to say that no specialty was singled out in the matter of different complication from this viscous covid-19 situation and neurologists and neurosurgeon were no different. There are some studied reporting neurological complication associated with coronavirus infections but when it comes to life threatening and acute neurological complications such as strokes and malignant cerebral edema the data is scant. Here we are going to review the possible pathophysiology of this phenomenon, the relationship between covid-19 and acute ischemic stroke and malignant cerebral edema by taking a closer look at current data regarding this matter. Keywords: covid-19; acute ischemic stroke; malignant cerebral edema; covid-19 associated neurological complications. Abbreviations: DHC: Decompressive Hemicraniectomy; ELVO: Emergent Large Vessel Occlusion; MCE: Malignant Cerebral Edema.

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiling Chen ◽  
Chao Pan ◽  
Ping Zhang ◽  
Yingxin Tang ◽  
Zhouping Tang

Abstract:: Acute Ischemic Stroke (AIS) is currently the most frequently reported neurological complication of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This article will elaborate on the clinical features of inpatients with COVID-19 and AIS and the pathophysiological mechanism of AIS under the background of COVID-19. Through a detailed search of relevant studies, we found that the incidence of AIS among COVID-19 patients varied from 0.9% to 4.6%, and AIS has been observed in many people without underlying diseases and cardiovascular risk factors as well as young people. The National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score of COVID-19 patients with AIS was higher than historical AIS patients, and the proportion of large vessel occlusion (LVO) was about 64.2%. COVID-19 patients with AIS have commonly high levels of D-D dimer, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein (CRP), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), suggesting systemic hyperinflammatory and hypercoagulable state. The pooled mortality of COVID-19 patients with AIS was 38% and the mortality of LVO patients is higher (45.9%). Compared with COVID-19-negative AIS patients in the same period in 2020 and 2019, COVID- 19 patients with AIS had a worse prognosis.


BMC Neurology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Fu ◽  
Yun Chen ◽  
Ping Li

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic, which broke out in Wuhan in 2019, has become the global health crisis of our time. Elderly patients with certain fundamental diseases are more likely to develop severe cases. The secondary lesion following viral infection have only rarely been reported. Case presentation We here report two cases of coronavirus-infected pneumonia with acute ischemic stroke in middle-aged patients. In both COVID-19 cases, neurological physical examinations showed normal results before infection. Lymphocytopenia, accompanied by elevated cytokines and D-dimers, were found from serum clinical laboratory examination at admission. Dysarthria and limb muscle weakness are initial manifestations, occurring one week after infect-causative pathogen, SARS-CoV-2. The head CT and head/neck arterial CTA showed small-vessel occlusion. The patients were diagnosed with coronavirus diseases with secondary acute ischemic stroke. They were treated with tirofiban and followed up with daily aspirin and atorvastatin. Conclusions These cases suggested that secondary ischemic stroke, mainly manifested as small-vessel occlusion, should be considered for COVID-19 patients and diagnosed and treated promptly.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Manuel Sarmiento ◽  
Shouri Lahiri

Ischemic stroke and intracranial hemorrhage are among the most devastating and debilitating injuries in medicine. Initial management principles for acute ischemic stroke rely on prompt revascularization before the brain parenchymal is infarcted. Large hemispheric infarctions and malignant cerebral edema occur uncommonly in a subset of patients with acute ischemic stroke and are associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. The indications for decompressive hemicraniectomy for malignant cerebral edema are reviewed. Medical management of intraparenchymal hematomas and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage in the intensive care setting is emphasized. Important clinical sequelae of subarachnoid hemorrhage such as rebleeding, cerebral vasospasm, and cerebral salt wasting are reviewed.   This review contains 5 figures, 4 tables and 52 references Key Words:  acute ischemic stroke, cerebral aneurysm, cerebral vasospasm, decompressive hemicraniectomy, intracerebral hemorrhage, large hemispheric infarctions, subarachnoid hemorrhage, malignant cerebral edema


Author(s):  
Bin Fu ◽  
Yun Chen ◽  
Ping Li

Abstract Background : The 2019 novel coronavirus disease is an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China in the end of Dec, 2019. The older patients complicated with underlying diseases are reported more likely to have clinical symptoms. But its secondary lesion is rarely reported. Case presentation : We reported two cases of coronavirus infected pneumonia with acute ischemic stroke in patients at their middle-age. In both 2019 coronavirus diseases cases, neurological physical examination are normal before infection. Lymphocytopenia and high expression of cytokines and D-dimer were found from serum clinical laboratory test at admission. The tongue palsy, dysarthria and limb muscle weakness are initial manifestations in one week after 2019 novel coronavirus infection. The head CT and head/neck arterial CTA showed small-vessel occlusion. The patients were diagnosed with coronavirus diseases with secondary acute ischemic stroke. They were treated with tirofiban and followed up with daily aspirin and atorvastatin. Conclusion : The present cases suggest that secondary ischemic stroke, which mainly manifested as small-vessel occlusion, should be considered for coronavirus disease patients with prompt diagnosis and treatment.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Fu ◽  
Yun Chen ◽  
Ping Li

Abstract Background: The 2019 novel coronavirus disease is an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China in the end of Dec, 2019. The older patients complicated with underlying diseases are reported more likely to have clinical symptoms. But its secondary lesion is rarely reported. Case presentation: We reported two cases of coronavirus infected pneumonia with acute ischemic stroke in patients at their middle-age. In both 2019 coronavirus diseases cases, neurological physical examination are normal before infection. Lymphocytopenia and high expression of cytokines and D-dimer were found from serum clinical laboratory test at admission. The dysarthria and limb muscle weakness are initial manifestations in one week after 2019 novel coronavirus infection. The head CT and head/neck arterial CTA showed small-vessel occlusion. The patients were diagnosed with coronavirus diseases with secondary acute ischemic stroke. They were treated with tirofiban and followed up with daily aspirin and atorvastatin. Conclusion: The present cases suggested that secondary ischemic stroke, which mainly manifested as small-vessel occlusion, should be considered for coronavirus disease patients with prompt diagnosis and treatment.


2021 ◽  
pp. 197140092110305
Author(s):  
Chesney S Oravec ◽  
Christine Tschoe ◽  
Kyle M Fargen ◽  
Carol A Kittel ◽  
Alejandro Spiotta ◽  
...  

Background and purpose Acute ischemic stroke has increasingly become a procedural disease following the demonstrated benefit of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for emergent large vessel occlusion (ELVO) on clinical outcomes and tissue salvage in randomized trials. Given these data and anecdotal experience of decreased numbers of decompressive hemicraniectomies (DHCs) performed for malignant cerebral edema, we sought to correlate the numbers of strokes, thrombectomies, and DHCs performed over the timeline of the 2013 failed thrombolysis/thrombectomy trials, to the 2015 modern randomized MT trials, to post-DAWN and DEFUSE 3. Materials and methods This is a multicenter retrospective compilation of patients who presented with ELVO in 11 US high-volume comprehensive stroke centers. Rates of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), thrombectomy, and DHC were determined by current procedural terminology code, and specificity to acute ischemic stroke confirmed by each institution. Endpoints included the incidence of stroke, thrombectomy, and DHC and rates of change over time. Results Between 2013 and 2018, there were 55,247 stroke admissions across 11 participating centers. Of these, 6145 received tPA, 4122 underwent thrombectomy, and 662 patients underwent hemicraniectomy. The trajectories of procedure rates over time were modeled and there was a significant change in MT rate ( p = 0.002) without a concomitant change in the total number of stroke admissions, tPA administration rate, or rate of DHC. Conclusions This real-world study confirms an increase in thrombectomy performed for ELVO while demonstrating stable rates of stroke admission, tPA administration and DHC. Unlike prior studies, increasing thrombectomy rates were not associated with decreased utilization of hemicraniectomy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 132 (4) ◽  
pp. 1182-1187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie E. Andrews ◽  
Nikolaos Mouchtouris ◽  
Evan M. Fitchett ◽  
Fadi Al Saiegh ◽  
Michael J. Lang ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVEMechanical thrombectomy (MT) is now the standard of care for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) secondary to large-vessel occlusion, but there remains a question of whether elderly patients benefit from this procedure to the same degree as the younger populations enrolled in the seminal trials on MT. The authors compared outcomes after MT of patients 80–89 and ≥ 90 years old with AIS to those of younger patients.METHODSThe authors retrospectively analyzed records of patients undergoing MT at their institution to examine stroke severity, comorbid conditions, medical management, recanalization results, and clinical outcomes. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to compare patients < 80 years, 80–89 years, and ≥ 90 years old.RESULTSAll groups had similar rates of comorbid disease and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) administration, and stroke severity did not differ significantly between groups. Elderly patients had equivalent recanalization outcomes, with similar rates of readmission, 30-day mortality, and hospital-associated complications. These patients were more likely to have poor clinical outcome on discharge, as defined by a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 3–6, but this difference was not significant when controlled for stroke severity, tPA administration, and recanalization results.CONCLUSIONSOctogenarians, nonagenarians, and centenarians with AIS have similar rates of mortality, hospital readmission, and hospital-associated complications as younger patients after MT. Elderly patients also have the capacity to achieve good functional outcome after MT, but this potential is moderated by stroke severity and success of treatment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhen Jing ◽  
Hao Li ◽  
Shengming Huang ◽  
Min Guan ◽  
Yongxin Li ◽  
...  

AbstractEndovascular treatment (EVT) has been accepted as the standard of care for patients with acute ischemic stroke. The aim of the present study was to compare clinical outcomes of patients who received EVT within and beyond 6 h from symptom onset to groin puncture without perfusion software in Guangdong district, China. Between March 2017 and May 2018, acute ischemic stroke patients who received EVT from 6 comprehensive stroke centers, were enrolled into the registry study. In this subgroup study, we included all patients who had acute proximal large vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation. The demographic, clinical and neuroimaging data were collected from each center. A total of 192 patients were included in this subgroup study. They were divided into two groups: group A (n = 125), within 6 h; group B (n = 67), 6–24 h from symptom onset to groin puncture. There were no substantial differences between these two groups in terms of 90 days favorable outcome (modified Rankin scale [mRS] ≤ 2, P = 0.051) and mortality (P = 0.083), and the risk of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage at 24 h (P = 0.425). The NIHSS (median 16, IQR12-20, group A; median 12, IQR8-18, group B; P = 0.009) and ASPECTS (median 10, IQR8-10, group A; median 9, IQR8-10, group B; P = 0.034) at baseline were higher in group A. The anesthesia method (general anesthesia, 21.3%, group A vs. 1.5% group B, P = 0.001) were also statistically different between the two groups. The NIHSS and ASPECTS were higher, and general anesthesia was also more widely used in group A. Clinical outcomes were not significantly different within 6 h versus 6–24 h from symptom onset to groin puncture in this real world study.


2021 ◽  
pp. 028418512110068
Author(s):  
Yu Hang ◽  
Zhen Yu Jia ◽  
Lin Bo Zhao ◽  
Yue Zhou Cao ◽  
Huang Huang ◽  
...  

Background Patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) caused by large vessel occlusion (LVO) were usually transferred from a primary stroke center (PSC) to a comprehensive stroke center (CSC) for endovascular treatment (drip-and-ship [DS]), while driving the doctor from a CSC to a PSC to perform a procedure is an alternative strategy (drip-and-drive [DD]). Purpose To compare the efficacy and prognosis of the two strategies. Material and Methods From February 2017 to June 2019, 62 patients with LVO received endovascular treatment via the DS and DD models and were retrospectively analyzed from the stroke alliance based on our CSC. Primary endpoint was door-to-reperfusion (DTR) time. Secondary endpoints included puncture-to-recanalization (PTR) time, modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction (mTICI) rates at the end of the procedure, and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at 90 days. Results Forty-one patients received the DS strategy and 21 patients received the DD strategy. The DTR time was significantly longer in the DS group compared to the DD group (315.5 ± 83.8 min vs. 248.6 ± 80.0 min; P < 0.05), and PTR time was shorter (77.2 ± 35.9 min vs. 113.7 ± 69.7 min; P = 0.033) compared with the DD group. Successful recanalization (mTICI 2b/3) was achieved in 89% (36/41) of patients in the DS group and 86% (18/21) in the DD group ( P = 1.000). Favorable functional outcomes (mRS 0–2) were observed in 49% (20/41) of patients in the DS group and 71% (15/21) in the DD group at 90 days ( P = 0.089). Conclusion Compared with the DS strategy, the DD strategy showed more effective and a trend of better clinical outcomes for AIS patients with LVO.


Author(s):  
Pauli E. T. Vuorinen ◽  
Jyrki P. J. Ollikainen ◽  
Pasi A. Ketola ◽  
Riikka-Liisa K. Vuorinen ◽  
Piritta A. Setälä ◽  
...  

Abstract Background In acute ischemic stroke, conjugated eye deviation (CED) is an evident sign of cortical ischemia and large vessel occlusion (LVO). We aimed to determine if an emergency dispatcher can recognise LVO stroke during an emergency call by asking the caller a binary question regarding whether the patient’s head or gaze is away from the side of the hemiparesis or not. Further, we investigated if the paramedics can confirm this sign at the scene. In the group of positive CED answers to the emergency dispatcher, we investigated what diagnoses these patients received at the emergency department (ED). Among all patients brought to ED and subsequently treated with mechanical thrombectomy (MT) we tracked the proportion of patients with a positive CED answer during the emergency call. Methods We collected data on all stroke dispatches in the city of Tampere, Finland, from 13 February 2019 to 31 October 2020. We then reviewed all patient records from cases where the dispatcher had marked ‘yes’ to the question regarding patient CED in the computer-aided emergency response system. We also viewed all emergency department admissions to see how many patients in total were treated with MT during the period studied. Results Out of 1913 dispatches, we found 81 cases (4%) in which the caller had verified CED during the emergency call. Twenty-four of these patients were diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke. Paramedics confirmed CED in only 9 (11%) of these 81 patients. Two patients with positive CED answers during the emergency call and 19 other patients brought to the emergency department were treated with MT. Conclusion A small minority of stroke dispatches include a positive answer to the CED question but paramedics rarely confirm the emergency medical dispatcher’s suspicion of CED as a sign of LVO. Few patients in need of MT can be found this way. Stroke dispatch protocol with a CED question needs intensive implementation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document