The Relationship between Stress and Eating Habits of University Students

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A Case of Airway Obstruction Caused by Bilateral Vocal Cord Palsy in a Patient with Lateral Medullary Infarction

Lateral medullary infarction can lead to central respiratory failure. However, in Wallenberg's syndrome, obstructive respiratory failure rarely develops. Here, we report a case of obstructive respiratory failure with stridor caused by unilateral lateral medullary infarction. A 74-year-old woman was admitted for acute right lateral medullary infarction. On the 12th day after the stroke, the patient developed respiratory failure necessitating endotracheal intubation. She could maintain good oxygen saturation and ventilation in intubated status without the assistance of mechanical ventilator, even during sleep. The pharyngo-laryngoscopy demonstrated the hypomobility of bilateral vocal cords. This case suggests that unilateral medullary infarction might be a cause of bilateral vocal cord palsy.ope

Factors Associated with Early Hospital Arrival in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Factors associated with early arrival may vary according to the characteristics of the hospital. We investigated the factors associated with early hospital arrival in two different stroke centers located in Korea and Japan. METHODS: Consecutive patients with ischemic stroke arrived hospital within 48 hours of onset between January 2011 and December 2012 were identified and the clinical and time variables were retrieved from the prospective stroke registries of Severance Hospital of Yonsei University Health System (YUHS; Seoul, Korea) and National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center (NCVC; Osaka, Japan). Subjects were dichotomized into early (time from onset to arrival ≤4.5 hours) and late (>4.5 hours) arrival groups. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate factors associated with early hospital arrival. RESULTS: A total of 1,966 subjects (992 from YUHS; 974 from NCVC) were included in this study. The median time from onset to arrival was 6.1 hours [interquartile range, 1.7-17.8 hours]. In multivariate analysis, the factors associated with early arrival were atrial fibrillation (Odds ratio [OR], 1.505; 95% confidence interval [CI], [1.168-1.939]), higher initial National Institute of Health Stroke Scale scores (OR, 1.037; 95% CI [1.023-1.051]), onset during daytime (OR, 2.799; 95% CI [2.173-3.605]), and transport by an emergency medical service (OR, 2.127; 95% CI [1.700-2.661]). These factors were consistently associated with early arrival in both hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Despite differences between the hospitals, there were common factors related to early arrival. Efforts to identify and modify these factors may promote early hospital arrival and improve stroke outcome.ope

Infarct Core Expansion on Computed Tomography before and after Intravenous Thrombolysis

PURPOSE: Infarct core can expand rapidly in acute stroke patients receiving intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV t-PA). We investigated changes in the extent of infarct core during IV t-PA treatment, and explored the associative factors of this infarct core expansion in patients with proximal artery occlusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We included patients who were considered for sequential intra-arterial therapy (IAT) due to occlusion of intracranial proximal artery after IV t-PA. Patients who had a baseline Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography (CT) Score (ASPECTS) >/=6 and who underwent two consecutive CT scans before and shortly after IV t-PA infusion were enrolled. Patients were classified into no, moderate, and marked expansion groups based on decreases in ASPECTS (0-1, 2-3, and >/=4, respectively) on follow-up CT. Collateral status was graded using CT angiography. RESULTS: Of the 104 patients, 16 (15.4%) patients showed moderate and 13 (12.5%) patients showed marked infarct core expansion on follow-up CT scans obtained at 71.1+/-19.1 min after baseline CT scan. Sixteen (15.4%) patients had an ASPECTS value <6 on the follow-up CT. None of the patients with marked expansion were independent at 3 months. Univariate analysis and ordinal logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the infarct core expansion was significantly associated with collateral status (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Among patients who were considered for IAT after IV t-PA treatment, one out of every seven patients exhibited marked expansion of infarct core on follow-up CT before IAT. These patients tend to have poor collaterals and poor outcomes despite rescue IAT.ope

Lenticulostriate Artery Involvement is Predictive of Poor Outcomes in Superficial Middle Cerebral Artery Territory Infarctio

PURPOSE: Patients with superficial middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory infarction may have concomitant lenticulostriate artery (LSA) territory infarction. We investigated the mechanisms thereof and the outcomes of patients with superficial MCA territory infarction according to the presence or absence of LSA involvement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consecutive patients with first-ever infarction in the unilateral superficial MCA territory were included in this study. They were divided into the superficial MCA only (SM) group and the superficial MCA plus LSA (SM+L) group. RESULTS: Of the 398 patients, 84 patients (21.1%) had LSA involvement (SM+L group). The SM+L group more frequently had significant stenosis of the proximal MCA or carotid artery and high-risk cardioembolic sources. Stroke severity and outcomes were remarkably different between the groups. The SM+L group showed more severe neurologic deficits (National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score 10.8±7.1 vs. 4.0±5.0, p2) at 3 months was more common in the SM+L group (64.3% vs. 15.9%, p<0.001). During a mean follow-up of 26 months, 67 patients died. All-cause (hazard ratio, 2.246) and stroke (hazard ratio, 9.193) mortalities were higher in the SM+L group than the SM group. In multivariate analyses, LSA involvement was an independent predictor of poor functional outcomes and stroke mortality. CONCLUSION: LSA territory involvement is predictive of poor long-term outcomes in patients with superficial MCA territory infarction.ope

Total Cerebral Small-Vessel Disease Score is Associated with Mortality during Follow-Up after Acute Ischemic Stroke

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The recently developed total cerebral small-vessel disease (CSVD) score might appropriately reflect the total burden or severity of CSVD. We investigated whether the total CSVD score is associated with long-term outcomes during follow-up in patients with acute ischemic stroke. METHODS: In total, 1,096 consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke who underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging were enrolled. We calculated the total CSVD score for each patient after determining the burden of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), high-grade white-matter hyperintensities (HWHs), high-grade perivascular spaces (HPVSs), and asymptomatic lacunar infarctions (ALIs). We recorded the date and cause of death for all of the patients using data from the Korean National Statistical Office. We compared the long-term mortality rate with the total CSVD score using Cox proportional-hazards models. RESULTS: CMBs were found in 26.8% of the subjects (294/1,096), HWHs in 16.4% (180/1,096), HPVSs in 19.3% (211/1,096), and ALIs in 38.0% (416/1,096). After adjusting for age, sex, and variables that were significant at p<0.1 in the univariate analysis, the total CSVD score was independently associated with long-term death from all causes [hazard ratio (HR)=1.18 per point, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.07-1.30], ischemic stroke (HR=1.20 per point, 95% CI=1.01-1.42), and hemorrhagic stroke (HR=2.05 per point, 95% CI=1.30-3.22), but not with fatal cardiovascular events (HR=1.17 per point, 95% CI=0.82-1.67). CONCLUSIONS: The total CSVD score is a potential imaging biomarker for predicting mortality during follow-up in patients with acute ischemic stroke.ope

Effect and Safety of Rosuvastatin in Acute Ischemic Stroke

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The benefit of statins in acute stroke remains uncertain. Statins may prevent stroke recurrence during the acute stage of stroke via pleiotropic effects. However, statins may increase the risk of intracerebral hemorrhage. We investigated the effect and safety of rosuvastatin in acute stroke patients. METHODS: This randomized, double-blind, multi-center trial compared rosuvastatin 20 mg and placebo in statin-naïve stroke patients who underwent diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) within 48 hours after symptom onset. The primary outcome was occurrence of new ischemic lesions on DWI at 5 or 14 days. RESULTS: This trial was stopped early after randomization of 316 patients due to slow enrollment. Among 289 patients with at least one follow-up imaging, the frequency of new ischemic lesions on DWI was not different between groups (rosuvastatin: 27/137, 19.7% vs. placebo: 36/152, 23.6%) (relative risk 0.83, 95% confidence interval 0.53-1.30). Infarct volume growth at 5 days (log-transformed volume change, rosuvastatin: 0.2±1.0 mm(3) vs. placebo: 0.3±1.3 mm(3); P=0.784) was not different, either. However, hemorrhagic infarction or parenchymal/subarachnoid hemorrhage on gradient-recalled echo magnetic resonance imaging occurred less frequently in the rosuvastatin group (6/137, 4.4%) than the placebo group (22/152, 14.5%, P=0.007). Among 314 patients with at least one dose of study medication, progression or clinical recurrence of stroke tended to occur less frequently in the rosuvastatin group (1/155, 0.6% vs. 7/159, 4.4%, P=0.067). Adverse events did not differ between groups. CONCLUSIONS: The efficacy of rosuvastatin in reducing recurrence in acute stroke was inconclusive. However, statin use was safe and reduced hemorrhagic transformation.ope

Repeated Thrombolytic Therapy in Patients with Recurrent Acute Ischemic Stroke

Background and Purpose Widespread use of thrombolytic treatments, along with improved chances of survival after an initial ischemic stroke, increases the possibility of repeated thrombolysis. There are few reports, however, regarding repeated thrombolysis in patients who have suffered acute ischemic stroke. We explored the number and outcome of patients with repeated thrombolytic therapy in the era of multimodal thrombolytic treatments. Methods We investigated patients with acute ischemic stroke who had received thrombolytic treatments for a period of 10 years. Number of thrombolysis was determined in each patient. Recanalization was defined as Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction grading ≥2a. Symptomatic hemorrhagic transformation was defined as any increase in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score that could be attributed to intracerebral hemorrhage. A good outcome was defined as a modified Rankin scale score ≤2. Results Of the 437 patients who received thrombolytic treatments, only 7 underwent repeated thrombolysis (1.6%). The median age at the time of repeated thrombolytic therapy was 71 years old; 4 of the patients were female. All patients had 1 or more potential sources of cardiac embolism. Recanalization was achieved in all patients, in both the first and the second thrombolysis. No symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage occurred after repeated thrombolytic treatments. Five patients (71.4%) showed good outcomes at 3 months. Conclusions Repeated thrombolysis for recurrent acute ischemic stroke appears to be safe and feasible. Among patients who experience recurrent acute ischemic stroke, thrombolytic therapy could be considered even if the patient has had previous thrombolytic treatments.ope

The Computerized Table Setting Test for Detecting Unilateral Neglect

BACKGROUND: Patients with unilateral neglect fail to respond normally to stimuli on the left side. To facilitate the evaluation of unilateral spatial neglect, we developed a new application that runs on a tablet device and investigated its feasibility in stroke patients. METHODS: We made the computerized table setting test (CTST) to run on the tablet computer. Forty acute ischemic stroke patients (20 patients with right hemispheric infarction with neglect, 10 patients with right hemispheric infarction without neglect, and 10 patients with left hemispheric infarction) and 10 healthy controls were prospectively enrolled to validate the CTST. The test requires subjects to set a table by dragging 12 dishes located below the table on the tablet screen. The horizontal deviation of the 12 dishes from the midline of the table, the selection tendency measured by the sequence of the dish selection, and the elapsed time for table setting were calculated automatically. RESULTS: Parameters measured by the CTST were correlated with the results of conventional neglect tests. The horizontal deviation was significantly higher in patients with right hemispheric infarction with neglect compared with the other groups. The selection tendency and elapsed time also were significantly different in patients with right hemispheric infarction with neglect compared with the left hemispheric infarction and control groups, but were similar to those with right hemispheric infarction without neglect. CONCLUSIONS: The CTST is feasible to administer and comparable with conventional neglect tests. This new application may be useful for the initial diagnosis and follow-up of neglect patients.ope

Long-Term Mortality According to the Characteristics of Early Neurological Deterioration in Ischemic Stroke Patients

PURPOSE: Although early neurological deterioration (END) during the acute stroke period is known to be associated with poor functional outcomes, there is little data regarding the impact of END on long-term outcomes according to the characteristics of END. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there are differences in long-term mortality according to the characteristics of END among acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: END was defined as any increase (≥1) in National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score within 7 days after admission. We assessed the characteristics of END, such as the etiology and severity of END, as well as recovery after END. The relationship between 30-day or long-term mortality and each characteristic of END was investigated using multiple logistic analysis or Cox regression model. RESULTS: Among 2820 patients, END was observed in 344 patients (12.2%). After adjustment for age, sex, underlying cardiovascular diseases, stroke severity, and stroke subtypes, END was associated with long-term mortality, whether it was mild or severe and whether or not it was followed by recovery. However, 30-day mortality was strongly related to the severity of END or the absence of recovery after END. Among the causes of END, recurrent stroke and medical illness were related to 30-day mortality, as well as long-term mortality, while brain herniation and intracranial hemorrhagic complications were only associated with 30-day mortality. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study demonstrated that END is associated with higher mortality and the effects of END on short-term and long-term mortality depend on END characteristics.ope