Robert F. Woolson

Baseline NIH Stroke Scale score strongly predicts outcome after stroke A report of the Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST)

Objective: To compare the baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score and the Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST) stroke subtype as predictors of outcomes at 7 days and 3 months after ischemic stroke. Methods: Using data collected from 1,281 patients enrolled in a clinical trial, subtype of stroke was categorized using the TOAST classification, and neurologic impairment at baseline was quantified using the NIHSS. Outcomes were assessed at 7 days and 3 months using the Barthel Index (BI) and the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS). An outcome was rated as excellent if the GOS score was 1 and the BI was 19 or 20 (scale of 0 to 20). Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, race, and history of previous stroke. Results: The baseline NIHSS score strongly predicted outcome, with one additional point on the NIHSS decreasing the likelihood of excellent outcomes at 7 days by 24% and at 3 months by 17%. At 3 months, excellent outcomes were noted in 46% of patients with NIHSS scores of 7 to 10 and in 23% of patients with scores of 11 to 15. After multivariate adjustment, lacunar stroke had an odds ratio of 3.1 (95% CI, 1.5 to 6.4) for an excellent outcome at 3 months. Conclusions: The NIHSS score strongly predicts the likelihood of a patient’s recovery after stroke. A score of ≥16 forecasts a high probability of death or severe disability whereas a score of ≤6 forecasts a good recovery. Only the TOAST subtype of lacunar stroke predicts outcomes independent of the NIHSS score.

Guidelines for the management of patients with acute ischemic stroke. A statement for healthcare professionals from a special writing group of the Stroke Council, American Heart Association.

In 1991, about 500 000 Americans had a stroke (400 000 had an ischemic stroke) and more than 143 000 died. More than 3 000 000 people in the .Ignited States have survived a stroke. In 1994 the annual economic costs of stroke due to health care expenses and lost productivity are estimated to be nearly

Acute blood glucose level and outcome from ischemic stroke

20 billion. In spite of these human and financial costs, stroke unfortunately has not received a great deal of attention, and its management has been marred by an element of nihilism. Caplan concludes that past failures to establish effective therapies for stroke are due to problems in clinical trial design, lack of interest in care of stroke, and lack of available technologies to evaluate patients. However, with advances in diagnosis and treatment, stroke can now be managed as the life-threatening emergency that it is. In 1993 the American Heart Association included emergent stroke care as part of its special resuscitation situations for basic and advanced life support. This report builds on that statement. The goal of this special report is to provide information about the current management of acute ischemic stroke. It also provides recommendations for initial care (within 24 hours of stroke) based on currently available data from clinical trials. In the future, many therapies for stroke will be linked to very early (within 6 hours) intervention. No recommendations about rehabilitation or chronic medical or surgical measures to prevent recurrent stroke are made. To prepare this report, the members of the Stroke Council used the rules of evidence for specific treatments that have been used by other panels (Table I). These rules give greater credence to the results of well-designed clinical trials than to anecdotal case reports or case series. The current recommendations will eventually be altered

The Prognostic Value of Tumor Blood Vessel Morphology in Primary Uveal Melanoma

Objective: To study the relation between acute blood glucose level and outcome from ischemic stroke. Background: Hyperglycemia may augment acute ischemic brain injury and increase the risk of hemorrhagic transformation of the infarct. Methods: The authors analyzed the relation between admission blood glucose level (within 24 hours from ischemic stroke onset) and clinical outcome in 1,259 patients enrolled in the Trial of ORG 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST)—a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind trial to test the efficacy of a low-molecular weight heparinoid in acute ischemic stroke. Very favorable outcome was defined as a Glasgow Outcome Scale score of 1 and a modified Barthel index of 19 or 20. Neurologic improvement at 3 months was defined as a decrease by ≥4 points on the NIH Stroke Scale compared with baseline or a final score of 0. Hemorrhagic transformation of infarct was assessed within 10 days after onset of stroke with repeat cerebral CT. Stroke subtype as lacunar or nonlacunar (atherothromboembolic, cardioembolic, and other or undetermined etiology) was classified by one investigator after completion of stroke evaluation according to study protocol. Results: In all strokes combined (p = 0.03) and in nonlacunar strokes (p = 0.02), higher admission blood glucose levels were associated with worse outcome at 3 months according to multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted for stroke severity, diabetes mellitus, and other vascular risks. In lacunar strokes, the relationship between acute blood glucose level and outcome was related to treatment. In the placebo group, higher admission blood glucose levels were associated with better outcome at 3 months. However, in the active drug group, as the glucose level increased from 50 to 150 mg/dL, the probability of a very favorable outcome decreased sharply and remained relatively unchanged as the glucose level increased further (p = 0.002, for overall effect of glucose on outcome). Acute blood glucose level was not associated with symptomatic hemorrhagic transformation of infarcts or with neurologic improvement at 3 months. Conclusions: During acute ischemic stroke hyperglycemia may worsen the clinical outcome in nonlacunar stroke, but not in lacunar stroke, and is not associated with an increased risk of hemorrhagic transformation of the infarct.

Microbiological factors influencing the outcome of nosocomial bloodstream infections: a 6-year validated, population-based model.

BACKGROUND It is possible to identify at least nine vascular patterns in melanomas of the ciliary body and choroid from histologic sections. An association between the presence of at least one closed vascular loop and death from metastases was shown in a matched-pair, case-control study of 40 patients whose eyes were removed for ciliary body or choroidal melanomas. METHODS Two independent observers who were masked to the follow-up of patients examined histologic preparations of 234 eyes removed for ciliary body or choroidal melanomas for the presence of each of the tumor vascular patterns. Statistical analyses included tests for interobserver reliability, Kaplan-Meier survival curves, and the fitting of Cox regression models. RESULTS The detection of each of the nine vascular patterns is highly reproducible. The Cox model indicates that the presence of vascular networks, defined as at least three back-to-back closed vascular loops, is the feature most strongly associated with death from metastatic melanoma. Other significant factors in the Cox model include (in descending order of importance) largest tumor dimension, mitoses, the parallel with cross-linking vascular pattern, age, the presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, and male gender. CONCLUSIONS The presence of vascular networks provides the most significant association with death from metastatic melanoma of all variables tested. The presence of this pattern should be recorded on pathology reports. If it becomes possible to detect this vascular pattern clinically using a noninvasive imaging technique, then ophthalmologists may be able to determine the likely biologic behavior of a melanoma before resorting to the removal of tissue.

Antimicrobial Resistance Trends and Outbreak Frequency in United States Hospitals

All patients (n = 1,745) with nosocomial bloodstream infection identified between 1986 and 1991 at a single 900-bed tertiary care hospital were studied to identify microbiological factors independently associated with mortality due to the infection. Patients were identified by prospective, case-based surveillance and positive blood cultures. Mortality rates were examined for secular trends. Prognostic factors were determined with use of univariate and multivariate analyses, and both derivation and validation sets were used. A total of 1,745 patients developed nosocomial bloodstream infection. The 28-day crude mortality was 22%, and crude in-hospital mortality was 35%. Factors independently (all P < .05) associated with increased 28-day mortality rates were older age, longer length of hospital stay before bloodstream infection, and a diagnosis of cancer or disease of the digestive system. After adjustment for major confounders, Candida species were the only organisms independently influencing the outcome of nosocomial bloodstream infection (odds ratio [OR] for mortality = 1.84; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.22-2.76; P = .0035). The two additional microbiological factors independently associated with increased mortality were pneumonia as a source of secondary infection (OR = 2.74; 95% CI, 1.87-4.00; P < .0001) and polymicrobial infection (OR = 1.68; 95% CI, 1.22-2.32; P = .0014). Our data suggest that microbiological factors independently affect the outcome of nosocomial bloodstream infection.

Frequency, risk factors, anatomy, and course of unilateral neglect in an acute stroke cohort

We assessed resistance rates and trends for important antimicrobial-resistant pathogens (oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus [ORSA], vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus species [VRE], ceftazidime-resistant Klebsiella species [K-ESBL], and ciprofloxacin-resistant Escherichia coli [QREC]), the frequency of outbreaks of infection with these resistant pathogens, and the measures taken to control resistance in a stratified national sample of 670 hospitals. Four hundred ninety-four (74%) of 670 surveys were returned. Resistance rates were highest for ORSA (36%), followed by VRE (10%), QREC (6%), and K-ESBL (5%). Two-thirds of hospitals reported increasing ORSA rates, whereas only 4% reported decreasing rates, and 24% reported ORSA outbreaks within the previous year. Most hospitals (87%) reported having implemented measures to rapidly detect resistance, but only approximately 50% reported having provided appropriate resources for antimicrobial resistance prevention (53%) or having implemented antimicrobial use guidelines (60%). The most common resistant pathogen in US hospitals is ORSA, which accounts for many recognized outbreaks and is increasing in frequency in most facilities. Current practices to prevent and control antimicrobial resistance are inadequate.

Ocular Neovascularization with Retinal Vascular Occlusion-III: Incidence of Ocular Neovascularization with Retinal Vein Occlusion

Objective: To delineate the frequency, course, risk factors, and neuroanatomy of hemispatial neglect in a large stroke cohort. Methods: One thousand two hundred eighty-one patients with acute stroke were enrolled in a multicenter trial of an anticoagulant. Presence and severity of neglect were assessed with the NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) neglect item, assessing tactile extinction and visuospatial neglect at entry, daily for 1 week, and at 3 months. Head CT scans were obtained on day 7, and infarct location and size were characterized. Results: Neglect was common at presentation, occurring in 43% of right brain-lesioned (RBL) patients and 20% of left brain-lesioned (LBL) patients (p < 0.001). At 3 months, neglect was present in 17% of RBL patients and in 5% of LBL patients (p < 0.001). In RBL patients, neglect was most frequently associated with lesions involving the (in descending order) temporal, parietal, frontal, occipital lobes, basal ganglia, and thalamus. Neglect was more common and persistent with cortical than with subcortical lesions. Increasing age was associated with increased risk of neglect in RBL patients, whereas gender and handedness did not significantly affect neglect frequency. Conclusions: This series confirms that hemispatial neglect may occur with damage to several supratentorial structures but is most common and persistent with lesions of the right temporoparietal cortex. Increasing age is associated with neglect, particularly after right brain lesions. Gender and handedness do not exert a marked effect on the likelihood of the occurrence of neglect.

Medical Comorbidity in Women and Men with Schizophrenia: A Population-Based Controlled Study

A prospective natural history study was conducted in 721 eyes with various types of retinal vein occlusion (RVO) to determine the incidence of various types of ocular neovascularization (NV) and the factors that influence the development of ocular NV. The material was 360 eyes with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), 97 eyes with hemi-CRVO, and 264 eyes with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO); these cases were further subdivided into six groups for logical data analysis: nonischemic CRVO (venous stasis retinopathy-VSR, 282 eyes), ischemic CRVO (hemorrhagic retinopathy-HR, 78 eyes), hemi-VSR (66 eyes), hemi-HR (31 eyes), major BRVO (191 eyes) and macular BRVO (73 eyes). Ocular NV attributable to RVO was seen only in HR, hemi-HR, and major BRVO. In HR the anterior segment was the major site of NV, with iris and angle NV and neovascular glaucoma (NVG), while in hemi-HR and major BRVO the retina and optic disc were the major sites of NV. The principal factor influencing the development of ocular NV in RVO seems to be the severity and extent of retinal ischemia, while duration of follow-up since onset also plays an important role in determining the incidence of ocular NV. The findings and subject of ocular NV in RVO are discussed in detail along with a review of the pertinent literature.

The morphologic characteristics of tumor blood vessels as a marker of tumor progression in primary human uveal melanoma: A matched case-control study☆

AbstractBACKGROUND: Persons with persistent mental illness are at risk for failure to receive medical services. In order to deliver appropriate preventive and primary care for this population, it is important to determine which chronic medical conditions are most common. OBJECTIVE: We examined chronic medical comorbidity in persons with schizophrenia using validated methodologies. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of longitudinal administrative claims data from Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Iowa. PARTICIPANTS: Subjects with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (N=1,074), and controls (N=726,262) who filed at least 1 claim for medical services, 1996 to 2001. MEASUREMENTS: Case subjects had schizophrenia as the most clinically predominant psychotic disorder, based on psychiatric hospitalization, psychiatrist diagnoses, and outpatient care. Controls had no claims for any psychiatric comorbidity. Using a modified version of the Elixhauser Comorbidity Index, inpatient and outpatient claims were used to determine the prevalence of 46 common medical conditions. Odds ratios (ORs) were adjusted for age, gender, residence, and nonmental health care utilization using logistic regression. RESULTS: Subjects with schizophrenia were significantly more likely to have 1 or more chronic conditions compared with controls. Adjusted OR (95% confidence interval [CI]) were 2.62 (2.09 to 3.28) for hypothyrodisim, 1.88 (1.51 to 2.32) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 2.11 (1.36 to 3.28) for diabetes with complications, 7.54 (3.55 to 15.99) for hepatitis C, 4.21 (3.25 to 5.44) for fluid/electrolyte disorders, and 2.77 (2.23 to 3.44) for nicotine abuse/dependence. CONCLUSIONS: Schizophrenia is associated with substantial chronic medical burden. Familiarity with conditions affecting persons with schizophrenia may assist programs aimed at providing medical care for the mentally ill.