Richard E. Temes

Transfer Delay Is a Major Factor Limiting the Use of Intra-Arterial Treatment in Acute Ischemic Stroke

Background and Purpose— The development of comprehensive stroke centers within hub-and-spoke stroke networks offers the opportunity to increase the proportion of acute ischemic stroke patients treated with intra-arterial therapies (IAT). Interhospital transfer delays will be critical in evaluating the success of this strategy. Methods— We collected data on consecutive patients who were transferred to our institution for possible IAT. We defined transfer time as time elapsed from initial transfer call to arrival at our hospital and assessed whether transfer time was a predictor of emergent angiography using multivariable logistic regression. Results— Among 132 patients referred for IAT, 53 (40.2%) were excluded on clinical grounds. The remaining 79 (59.8%) patients (mean age, 61 years; median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, 18; 49.4% male) were analyzed. Sixty-one of 79 (77%) patients underwent emergent angiography for IAT. The median hospital-to-hospital distance was 14.7 (interquartile range, 8.5–21.9) miles and median transfer time was 104 (interquartile range, 80–135) minutes. Transfer time was 33% lower among those who underwent emergent angiography (100.6 versus 149.0 minutes; P<0.001). Adjusting for relevant covariates, transfer time remained an independent predictor of emergent angiography (OR, 0.975; 95% CI, 0.956–0.995; P=0.014). The odds of treatment decrease by 2.5% for every minute of transfer time. Conclusions— Delay in hospital-to-hospital transfer is a common reason that acute ischemic stroke patients are excluded from interventional therapy. The likelihood of receiving IAT decreases rapidly by increasing transfer time. Specific goals for transfer time should be considered in future quality standards for hub-and-spoke–organized stroke networks.

Acute Brain Infarcts After Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage A Diffusion-Weighted Imaging Study

Background and Purpose— We aimed to determine the prevalence of acute brain infarcts using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Methods— We collected data on consecutive patients with spontaneous ICH admitted to our institution between August 1, 2006 and December 31, 2008 and in whom DWI was performed within 28 days of admission. Patients with hemorrhage attributable to trauma, tumor, aneurysm, vascular malformation, and hemorrhagic conversion of arterial or venous infarction were excluded. Restricted diffusion within, contiguous with, or immediately neighboring the hematoma or chronic infarcts was not considered abnormal. Using multivariable logistic regression, we evaluated potential predictors of DWI abnormality including clinical and radiographic characteristics and treatments. A probability value <0.05 was considered significant in the final model. Results— Among 118 spontaneous ICH patients (mean 59.6 years, 47.5% male, and 31.4% white) who also underwent MRI, DWI abnormality was observed in 22.9%. The majority of infarcts were small (median volume 0.25 mL), subcortical (70.4%), and subclinical (88.9%). Factors independently associated with DWI abnormality were prior ischemic stroke (P=0.002), MAP lowering by ≥40% (P=0.004), and craniotomy for ICH evacuation (P=0.001). Conclusion— We found that acute brain infarction is relatively common after acute spontaneous ICH. Several factors, including aggressive blood pressure lowering, may be associated with acute ischemic infarcts after ICH. These preliminary findings require further prospective study.

Warfarin-Associated Intracerebral Hemorrhage Is Inadequately Treated at Community Emergency Departments

Background and Purpose— The purpose of this study was to investigate time delays, adherence to guidelines, and their impact on outcomes in patients with warfarin-associated intracerebral hemorrhage transferred from community emergency departments to a comprehensive stroke center. Methods— We collected demographic, clinical, transfer time, treatment, and outcome data for patients transferred to our institution with warfarin-associated intracerebral hemorrhage from community emergency departments. Results— Among 928 patients with intracerebral hemorrhage, 56 (6%) with warfarin-associated intracerebral hemorrhage (median international normalized ratio, 2.55) were transferred to the comprehensive stroke center. Twenty patients received no acute reversal therapy before transfer, only 4 of whom had international normalized ratios ⩽1.4 in the community emergency department. Median time of emergency department stay was 3.66 hours and median time to initiation of acute reversal therapy was 4.48 hours. Those who received ≥3 U of fresh–frozen plasma or recombinant activated Factor VIIa (11 patients) before transfer had lower repeat international normalized ratios and better discharge dispositions than those treated less aggressively. Conclusions— Treatment of warfarin-associated intracerebral hemorrhage in community emergency departments is often suboptimal and does not adhere to published guidelines. Treating coagulopathy aggressively before interhospital transfer may improve outcomes and warrants further investigation.

Neurogenic Stunned Myocardium Associated with Reversible Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome

IntroductionNeurogenic stunned myocardium is characterized by transient left ventricular systolic dysfunction in the absence of significant obstructive coronary artery disease. Reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome (RPLS) is characterized by transient vasogenic subcortical edema without infarction. Both syndromes are hypothesized to result from sympathetic dysregulation. We report a case of neurogenic-stunned myocardium and RPLS occurring simultaneously in a patient.MethodsSingle case report.ResultsWe present a 55-year-old woman with a history of hypertension and chronic back pain status post spinal cord stimulator who presented with severe headache, seizure, and confusion associated with acute hypertension. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed bilateral patchy T2 signal hyperintensity, consistent with RPLS. Transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) showed regional-wall motion abnormalities in the apical regions, consistent with neurogenic-stunned myocardium. The patient’s TTE and MRI abnormalities resolved on follow-up studies.ConclusionNeurogenic-stunned myocardium and RPLS are two reversible clinical syndromes that are hypothesized to be a result of sympathetic dysregulation. Our case suggests that these two syndromes may occur together in the same patient.

Therapeutic Hypothermia After Cardiac Arrest is Underutilized in the United States

Little is known about the frequency of therapeutic hypothermia use after cardiac arrest in the United States. We, therefore, analyzed the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) to determine the prevalence of hypothermia use after cardiac arrest and patient and hospital factors associated with its use. Using 2007 NIS data, we identified adult patients with cardiac arrest using the ICD-9 diagnosis code, 427.5, while the use of therapeutic hypothermia was based on the ICD-9 procedure code, 99.81. Among 26,519 adult patients with cardiac arrest, only 92 (0.35%) were coded as having received therapeutic hypothermia. In a multivariable logistic regression model, independent factors associated with the use of therapeutic hypothermia included age as a continuous variable ([odds ratios] OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.963-0.989, p<0.001), comorbidity adjusted mortality score (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.04-1.08, p<0.001), admission from the emergency room (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.191-3.949, p=0.011), teaching hospital status (OR 2.68, 95% CI 1.36-5.29, p=0.005), acute myocardial infarction (OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.14-3.36, p=0.015), hospital location in the western United States (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.16-3.14, p=0.011), and >97% registered nurse hospital staffing (OR 2.64, 95% CI 1.62-4.30, p<0.001). Therapeutic hypothermia may be utilized in <1% of cardiac arrest patients in U.S. hospitals. We identified important patient and hospital factors associated with therapeutic hypothermia utilization. Efforts to increase generalized utilization of this effective resuscitation strategy are warranted.

Prolonged mechanical ventilation is associated with pulmonary complications, increased length of stay, and unfavorable discharge destination among patients with subdural hematoma.

Background: Although subdural hematoma (SDH) is common in neurocritical practice, little is known about SDH patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV). We aimed to determine predictors of PMV and its relationship with outcome in patients with SDH. Methods: SDH patients admitted to Rush University neurointensive care unit from January 2009 to March 2012 were reviewed. Duration of intubation, pulmonary complications, demographics, treatment, discharge disposition, and length of stay (LOS) were reviewed. PMV was defined as duration of intubation >4 days. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify predictors of PMV and association with outcome among survivors with SDH. Results: Of the 288 survivors with SDH, the mean age was 68, and of them 179 were male. A total of 137 required surgical SDH evacuation. Pneumonia occurred in 26 patients. Forty-eight patients (17%) required intubation, with duration of intubation being 1 to 20 days (median 3.0). Factors independently associated with PMV included alcohol abuse (OR, 4.31; 95% CI, 1.36-13.67), admission GCS<15 (OR, 11; 95% CI, 2.36-51.52), and surgical evacuation (OR, 9.27; 95% CI, 1.93-44.54). PMV predicted pneumonia (OR, 5.85; 95% CI, 1.52-22.57), tracheostomy (OR, 26.67; 95% CI, 2.93-242.67), increased LOS, and unfavorable discharge destination (OR, 73.1; 95% CI, 14.03-380.69). Conclusions: PMV is associated with pulmonary complications, increased LOS, and unfavorable discharge destination in patients with SDH. Alcohol abuse, admission GCS, and surgical evacuation are associated with PMV among patients with SDH. Future studies should investigate the role of early tracheostomy in high-risk patients and impact on outcomes.

Depression and Anxiety Following Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Are Associated With Higher Six-Month Unemployment Rates

Although survival has dramatically improved following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH), the reasons for persistent high rates of unemployment in this population remain unknown. Retrospective review for medical records of patients with aSAH admitted to Rush University Medical Center was undertaken. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to test the association of either depression or anxiety with the 6-month employment status. Among the 29 patients who developed depression or anxiety, 86.2% were unemployed at 6 months following their aSAH. After controlling for confounding factors, anxiety and depression were significantly associated with higher 6-month unemployment rates (odds ratio [OR]=0.08, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.02-0.3, p=0.0002). Depression and anxiety are common following aSAH and are associated with increased unemployment rates 6 months post aSAH.

Response to Letter to the Editor by Dr. Witsch et al.

We thank Dr. Witsch et al. for their kind interest in our recent article on ‘‘Risk Stratification for the In-Hospital mortality in Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: The HAIR score’’. We acknowledge that between score 6 and 7, mortality was essentially the same (in our data, 82.1 vs. 83.3 %), and Dr. Witsch reports similar numbers, albeit with a slightly decreased mortality (79.7 vs. 78.4 %). This small reversal is likely due to low power as the number of patients in the moribund subgroups (score 6, 7, 8) were likely relatively small compared to the overall cohort. In our data, there were only 6 patients with a score of 7 and no patients with a score of 8. Recognizing this, we chose to validate the HAIR score in our second cohort using a simplified risk stratification with low (score 0–2), moderate (score 3–5), and high (score 6–8), and clinically, it may be more meaningful to categorize patients this way. Of interest, Dr. Witsch’s findings included patients with the maximum HAIR score of 8, which was associated with 100 % mortality. Inclusion of patients in the highest subgroup is important and appears to be consistent with the HAIR score prediction. Dr. Witsch’s findings of an area under the ROC-curve of 0.9 indicates robust performance in discrimination overall, and we are pleased that the HAIR score has been externally validated in a separate cohort of over 1,600 subarachnoid hemorrhage patients.