Justin A. Sattin

An Expedited Code Stroke Protocol Is Feasible and Safe

Background and Purpose— Stroke recovery critically depends on timely reperfusion. In July 2003, we set a benchmark onset-to-treatment time of ≤2 hours and instituted an expedited code stroke protocol to accomplish this. We aim to show that the protocol is feasible and safe. Methods— The expedited protocol includes: Benchmark onset-to-treatment within 2 hours; in-person triage of all code stroke patients; unmixed tissue plasminogen activator at the bedside during evaluation; no delays pending coagulation tests, chest x-ray, or stool guiac unless specifically indicated; and no delays pending formal CT interpretation or written consent. Results— Between July 2003 and June 2005, we evaluated 781 patients and treated 103 of 781 (13.2%) with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator within 3 hours. Of these, we treated 49 of 103 (47.6%) within 2 hours of symptom onset, and 54 of 103 (52.4%) between 2 and 3 hours. The overall risk of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage was 4 of 103 (3.9%; 95% CI, 1.1%, 9.6%), and not significantly different from 6.4% (P=0.42). The hemorrhage risks in those treated within 2 hours of symptom onset and those treated between 2 and 3 hours were not significantly different from each other or from 6.4%. Conclusions— The expedited code stroke protocol is feasible and appears safe. Further study is warranted to confirm its safety and determine whether it results in better clinical outcomes.

Pending Laboratory Tests and the Hospital Discharge Summary in Patients Discharged To Sub-Acute Care

BackgroundPrevious studies have noted a high (41%) prevalence and poor discharge summary communication of pending laboratory (lab) tests at the time of hospital discharge for general medical patients. However, the prevalence and communication of pending labs within a high-risk population, specifically those patients discharged to sub-acute care (i.e., skilled nursing, rehabilitation, long-term care), remains unknown.ObjectiveTo determine the prevalence and nature of lab tests pending at hospital discharge and their inclusion within hospital discharge summaries, for common sub-acute care populations.DesignRetrospective cohort study.ParticipantsStroke, hip fracture, and cancer patients discharged from a single large academic medical center to sub-acute care, 2003–2005 (N = 564)Main MeasuresPending lab tests were abstracted from the laboratory information system (LIS) and from each patient’s discharge summary, then grouped into 14 categories and compared. Microbiology tests were sub-divided by culture type and number of days pending prior to discharge.Key ResultsOf sub-acute care patients, 32% (181/564) were discharged with pending lab tests per the LIS; however, only 11% (20/181) of discharge summaries documented these. Patients most often left the hospital with pending microbiology tests (83% [150/181]), particularly blood and urine cultures, and reference lab tests (17% [30/181]). However, 82% (61/74) of patients’ pending urine cultures did not have 24-hour preliminary results, and 19% (13/70) of patients’ pending blood cultures did not have 48-hour preliminary results available at the time of hospital discharge.ConclusionsApproximately one-third of the sub-acute care patients in this study had labs pending at discharge, but few were documented within hospital discharge summaries. Even after considering the availability of preliminary microbiology results, these omissions remain common. Future studies should focus on improving the communication of pending lab tests at discharge and evaluating the impact that this improved communication has on patient outcomes.

Changes in functional brain organization and behavioral correlations after rehabilitative therapy using a brain-computer interface

This study aims to examine the changes in task-related brain activity induced by rehabilitative therapy using brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies and whether these changes are relevant to functional gains achieved through the use of these therapies. Stroke patients with persistent upper-extremity motor deficits received interventional rehabilitation therapy using a closed-loop neurofeedback BCI device (n = 8) or no therapy (n = 6). Behavioral assessments using the Stroke Impact Scale, the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), and the Nine-Hole Peg Test (9-HPT) as well as task-based fMRI scans were conducted before, during, after, and 1 month after therapy administration or at analogous intervals in the absence of therapy. Laterality Index (LI) values during finger tapping of each hand were calculated for each time point and assessed for correlation with behavioral outcomes. Brain activity during finger tapping of each hand shifted over the course of BCI therapy, but not in the absence of therapy, to greater involvement of the non-lesioned hemisphere (and lesser involvement of the stroke-lesioned hemisphere) as measured by LI. Moreover, changes from baseline LI values during finger tapping of the impaired hand were correlated with gains in both objective and subjective behavioral measures. These findings suggest that the administration of interventional BCI therapy can induce differential changes in brain activity patterns between the lesioned and non-lesioned hemispheres and that these brain changes are associated with changes in specific motor functions.

Provider Characteristics, Clinical-Work Processes and Their Relationship to Discharge Summary Quality for Sub-Acute Care Patients

ABSTRACTBACKGROUNDDischarge summaries play a pivotal role in the transitional care of patients discharged to sub-acute care facilities, but the best ways to facilitate document completeness/quality remain unknown.OBJECTIVETo examine the relationship among clinical-work processes, provider characteristics, and discharge summary content to identify approaches that promote high-quality discharge documentation.DESIGNRetrospective cohort study.SUBJECTSAll hip fracture and stroke patients discharged to sub-acute care facilities during 2003–2005 from a large Midwestern academic medical center (N = 489). Patients on hospice/comfort care were excluded.MAIN MEASURESWe abstracted 32 expert-recommended components in four categories (‘patient’s medical course,’ ‘functional/cognitive ability at discharge,’ ‘future plan of care,’ and ‘name/contact information’) from the discharge summaries of sample patients. We examined predictors for the number of included components within each category using Poisson regression models. Predictors included work processes (document completion in relation to discharge day; completion time of day) and provider characteristics (training year; specialty).KEY RESULTSHistorical components (i.e., ‘patient’s medical course’ category) were included more often than components that directly inform the admission orders in the sub-acute care facility (i.e., ‘future plan of care’). In this latter category, most summaries included a discharge medication list (99%), disposition (90%), and instructions for follow-up (91%), but less frequently included diet (68%), activity instructions (58%), therapy orders (56%), prognosis/diagnosis communication to patient/family (15%), code status (7%), and pending studies (6%). ‘Future plan of care’ components were more likely to be omitted if a discharge summary was created >24 h after discharge (incident rate ratio = 0.91, 95% confidence interval = 0.84–0.98) or if an intern created the summary (0.90, 0.83–0.97).CONCLUSIONCritical component omissions in discharge summaries were common, and were associated with delayed document creation and less experienced providers. More research is needed to understand the impact of discharge documentation quality on patient/system outcomes.

Changes in functional connectivity correlate with behavioral gains in stroke patients after therapy using a brain-computer interface device

Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology is being incorporated into new stroke rehabilitation devices, but little is known about brain changes associated with its use. We collected anatomical and functional MRI of nine stroke patients with persistent upper extremity motor impairment before, during, and after therapy using a BCI system. Subjects were asked to perform finger tapping of the impaired hand during fMRI. Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), 9-Hole Peg Test (9-HPT), and Stroke Impact Scale (SIS) domains of Hand Function (HF) and Activities of Daily Living (ADL) were also assessed. Group-level analyses examined changes in whole-brain task-based functional connectivity (FC) to seed regions in the motor network observed during and after BCI therapy. Whole-brain FC analyses seeded in each thalamus showed FC increases from baseline at mid-therapy and post-therapy (p < 0.05). Changes in FC between seeds at both the network and the connection levels were examined for correlations with changes in behavioral measures. Average motor network FC was increased post-therapy, and changes in average network FC correlated (p < 0.05) with changes in performance on ARAT (R2 = 0.21), 9-HPT (R2 = 0.41), SIS HF (R2 = 0.27), and SIS ADL (R2 = 0.40). Multiple individual connections within the motor network were found to correlate in change from baseline with changes in behavioral measures. Many of these connections involved the thalamus, with change in each of four behavioral measures significantly correlating with change from baseline FC of at least one thalamic connection. These preliminary results show changes in FC that occur with the administration of rehabilitative therapy using a BCI system. The correlations noted between changes in FC measures and changes in behavioral outcomes indicate that both adaptive and maladaptive changes in FC may develop with this therapy and also suggest a brain-behavior relationship that may be stimulated by the neuromodulatory component of BCI therapy.

Characterizing relationships of DTI, fMRI, and motor recovery in stroke rehabilitation utilizing brain-computer interface technology

The relationship of the structural integrity of white matter tracts and cortical activity to motor functional outcomes in stroke patients is of particular interest in understanding mechanisms of brain structural and functional changes while recovering from stroke. This study aims to probe these underlying mechanisms using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and fMRI measures. We examined the structural integrity of the posterior limb of the internal capsule (PLIC) using DTI and corticomotor activity using motor-task fMRI in stroke patients who completed up to 15 sessions of rehabilitation therapy using Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technology. We hypothesized that (1) the structural integrity of PLIC and corticomotor activity are affected by stroke; (2) changes in structural integrity and corticomotor activity following BCI intervention are related to motor recovery; (3) there is a potential relationship between structural integrity and corticomotor activity. We found that (1) the ipsilesional PLIC showed significantly decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) values when compared to the contralesional PLIC; (2) lower ipsilesional PLIC-FA values were significantly associated with worse motor outcomes (i.e., ipsilesional PLIC-FA and motor outcomes were positively correlated.); (3) lower ipsilesional PLIC-FA values were significantly associated with greater ipsilesional corticomotor activity during impaired-finger-tapping-task fMRI (i.e., ipsilesional PLIC-FA and ipsilesional corticomotor activity were negatively correlated), with an overall bilateral pattern of corticomotor activity observed; and (4) baseline FA values predicted motor recovery assessed after BCI intervention. These findings suggest that (1) greater vs. lesser microstructural integrity of the ipsilesional PLIC may contribute toward better vs. poor motor recovery respectively in the stroke-affected limb and demand lesser vs. greater cortical activity respectively from the ipsilesional motor cortex; and that (2) PLIC-FA is a promising biomarker in tracking and predicting motor functional recovery in stroke patients receiving BCI intervention.

The promise and potential pitfalls of serum biomarkers for ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack.

Background:Ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack can be difficult to diagnose clinically, and both acute and preventive therapies carry some risk. Serum biomarkers could increase diagnostic certainty by helping to distinguish cerebral ischemia from common mimics such as focal seizure, complicated migraine, and psychogenic spells. Biomarkers could also identify patients at high risk for future vascular events, which would aid in management decisions. Review Summary:There are many potential obstacles to finding these biomarkers, which are reviewed here, including the blood brain barrier, confounding by other conditions, and imperfect gold standards for use in validation. Diagnostic biomarkers are likely to be molecules found predominantly in brain tissue with rapid entry into the blood, whereas risk-stratification biomarkers may be related to the concept of an active atherosclerotic plaque. Many promising serum molecules have been examined in small series of patients with cerebrovascular disease. Conclusion:Large series examining many candidate molecules will be needed to find valid biomarkers, and this should be followed by use in future intervention trials to prove their utility.

Functional connectivity changes in the language network during stroke recovery

Several neuroimaging studies have examined language reorganization in stroke patients with aphasia. However, few studies have examined language reorganization in stroke patients without aphasia. Here, we investigated functional connectivity (FC) changes after stroke in the language network using resting‐state fMRI and performance on a verbal fluency (VF) task in patients without clinically documented language deficits.

DTI measures track and predict motor function outcomes in stroke rehabilitation utilizing BCI technology.

Tracking and predicting motor outcomes is important in determining effective stroke rehabilitation strategies. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) allows for evaluation of the underlying structural integrity of brain white matter tracts and may serve as a potential biomarker for tracking and predicting motor recovery. In this study, we examined the longitudinal relationship between DTI measures of the posterior limb of the internal capsule (PLIC) and upper-limb motor outcomes in 13 stroke patients (median 20-month post-stroke) who completed up to 15 sessions of intervention using brain–computer interface (BCI) technology. Patients’ upper-limb motor outcomes and PLIC DTI measures including fractional anisotropy (FA), axial diffusivity (AD), radial diffusivity (RD), and mean diffusivity (MD) were assessed longitudinally at four time points: pre-, mid-, immediately post- and 1-month-post intervention. DTI measures and ratios of each DTI measure comparing the ipsilesional and contralesional PLIC were correlated with patients’ motor outcomes to examine the relationship between structural integrity of the PLIC and patients’ motor recovery. We found that lower diffusivity and higher FA values of the ipsilesional PLIC were significantly correlated with better upper-limb motor function. Baseline DTI ratios were significantly correlated with motor outcomes measured immediately post and 1-month-post BCI interventions. A few patients achieved improvements in motor recovery meeting the minimum clinically important difference (MCID). These findings suggest that upper-limb motor recovery in stroke patients receiving BCI interventions relates to the microstructural status of the PLIC. Lower diffusivity and higher FA measures of the ipsilesional PLIC contribute toward better motor recovery in the stroke-affected upper-limb. DTI-derived measures may be a clinically useful biomarker in tracking and predicting motor recovery in stroke patients receiving BCI interventions.

Case report: post-stroke interventional BCI rehabilitation in an individual with preexisting sensorineural disability

Therapies involving new technologies such as brain-computer interfaces (BCI) are being studied to determine their potential for interventional rehabilitation after acute events such as stroke produce lasting impairments. While studies have examined the use of BCI devices by individuals with disabilities, many such devices are intended to address a specific limitation and have been studied when this limitation or disability is present in isolation. Little is known about the therapeutic potential of these devices for individuals with multiple disabilities with an acquired impairment overlaid on a secondary long-standing disability. We describe a case in which a male patient with congenital deafness suffered a right pontine ischemic stroke, resulting in persistent weakness of his left hand and arm. This patient volunteer completed four baseline assessments beginning at 4 months after stroke onset and subsequently underwent 6 weeks of interventional rehabilitation therapy using a closed-loop neurofeedback BCI device with visual, functional electrical stimulation, and tongue stimulation feedback modalities. Additional assessments were conducted at the midpoint of therapy, upon completion of therapy, and 1 month after completing all BCI therapy. Anatomical and functional MRI scans were obtained at each assessment, along with behavioral measures including the Stroke Impact Scale (SIS) and the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT). Clinically significant improvements in behavioral measures were noted over the course of BCI therapy, with more than 10 point gains in both the ARAT scores and scores for the SIS hand function domain. Neuroimaging during finger tapping of the impaired hand also showed changes in brain activation patterns associated with BCI therapy. This case study demonstrates the potential for individuals who have preexisting disability or possible atypical brain organization to learn to use a BCI system that may confer some rehabilitative benefit.