Age Is Only a Number Also in Hyperacute Stroke Care-But Not an Irrelevant One

“It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future [...

Anterior circulation large vessel occlusion outcomes in patients transferred from a peripheral primary stroke centre

ObjectivesTo identify predictors of functional outcome in patients with an anterior circulation large-vessel occlusion (LVO) in a setting of long transfer distances.MethodsOutcomes of LVO patients transferred for an endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) from North Karelia Central Hospital to Kuopio University Hospital between January 2018 and October 2019 were analysed using retrospective patient chart review.ResultsThree months after the stroke, modified Rankin Scale (mRS) was 0-2 in 20 of the 41 transferred patients. They were younger (66.7 vs. 74.2 years, p = 0.032) and had less severe stroke symptoms (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, NIHSS, 11.5 vs. 16.5, p = 0.029) than those with mRS 3-6. They also had the occlusion less often in M1 and more often in M2. EVT was performed in 32 patients (no differences between those treated with EVT and those not treated with EVT). Their median age was 73.0 years (interquartile range 65.5, 79.8; range 32-86; 25% over 80), mean NIHSS score 14.0 (standard deviation 5.9) and mRS eventually 0-2 in 44%. Only NIHSS was associated with mRS (OR = 1.16; p = 0.016) in the EVT-treated patients. mRS was 0 in 38% of all EVT-treated octogenarians but 4-6 in 83% of those with an internal carotid artery and/or M1 occlusion.DiscussionOutcomes depended on stroke severity, age and vessel of occlusion. Prognosis was worse if the occlusion included M1, especially in octogenarians. Mothership and Drip-n-ship strategies should be compared in patients from remote locations stratified by stroke severity and patient age.</p

Adult onset epilepsy incidence in Finland over 34 years: A nationwide registry study

Background and purposeThe incidence of epilepsy is decreasing among the working-aged in high-income countries, but previous studies have reported conflicting results in Finland.MethodsA nationwide population-based cross-sectional analysis was made of annual epilepsy drug reimbursement rights frequency data from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, the national authority, between 1986 and 2019. All persons at least 20 years of age living in Finland during the study period were included.ResultsBased on the analysis of 77,939 new reimbursement rights, crude incidence was 57.4/100,000 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 57.0-57.8) person-years, and age-standardized (to the European Standard Population 2013) incidence was 51.6/100,000 person-years. Both crude (r = 0.62, p = 0.00009) and standardized (r = 0.65, p = 0.00003) incidence increased over time. Incidence increased in both men (from 66.4 to 71.6/100,000, r = 0.51, p = 0.002) and women (from 51.5 to 55.3/100,000, r = 0.68, p r = -0.47, p = 0.006). Incidence decreased in those 20-59 years old but increased in all older age groups. This development was similar between sexes. Conclusions The incidence of adult onset epilepsy in Finland increased in people older than 60 years and decreased in the 20-59-year age group during the study period. These trends were similar between sexes. Therefore, etiological epilepsy trends in the elderly need to be studied further to plan public health measures to prevent epilepsy in this age group.</p

Comorbidities in patients with Unverricht-Lundborg disease (EPM1) COMMENT

Background: Unverricht-Lundborg disease (EPM1) typically leads to accumulating disability. Disability may also be caused by comorbidities but there are no data available on these.Aims of the study: To investigate the frequency of comorbidities in EPM1.Methods: Comorbidity data of a previously described cohort of 135 Finnish patients with EPM1 were retrieved from neurological, surgical (including subspecialities), internal medicine (including subspecialities) and intensive care patient charts of the treating hospitals.Results: Mean follow-up time was 31.4 years (SD 12.4 years, range 6.8-57.8 years), during which at least one comorbidity was observed in 107 patients (79%) and three or more in 53 (39%). The most common diagnostic categories were external injuries, mental and behavioural disorders and endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases. The most common single comorbid diagnosis was a fracture of the ankle (in 19% of all patients). The second most common single comorbid diagnosis in the cohort was diabetes (in 13% of all patients), and the third was depression, recorded for 13% of the cohort. Malignancies and cardiovascular end-organ damage were rare, whereas phimosis/paraphimosis appeared more common than in general population.Conclusions: Patients with EPM1 often have comorbidities. Trauma and mental health risks should be especially followed and acted upon. Further studies are needed to more accurately comorbidity risks, characteristics and patient needs.</p

Case fatality of hospital-treated intracerebral hemorrhage in Finland - A nationwide population-based registry study

Case-fatality of Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) has been reported to have improved in some areas recently. Previous reports have shown that in Finland ICH survival has improved already from the 1980s. We aimed to investigate if this trend has continued and to assess possible predictors for death.All patients hospitalized for ICH in Finland in 2004-2018 over 16 years of age were identified from a national registry. Survival was analyzed using the national causes of death registry with median follow-up of 5.1 years (max 15.0 years).20,391 persons with ICH (53.5% men) were identified. Patient age increased during the study period with men being younger than women. One-month case-fatality was 28.4% and decreased during the study period. One-month and long-term case-fatality increased with patient age. Five-year survival was over 64% in patients 75 years of age. In a multivariate analysis patient age, sex, comorbidity burden and diagnoses of atrial fibrillation, hypertension and coagulopathy were all independently associated with both 30-day and long-term survival. Survival was better in men than women at all time points but in the multivariate analysis male sex was associated with a slightly higher risk (hazard ratio 1.10, 95% CI 1.06-1.14) of death in the long-term follow-up. Compared to general population, excess case-fatality was high and highly age-dependent in both sexes.Case-fatality of hospital-treated ICH has continued to decrease in Finland. Prognosis is strongly associated with patient age and more modestly with patient sex and comorbidities.</div

Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy: Current Insights

Cases of PML should be evaluated according to predisposing factors, as these subgroups differ by incidence rate, clinical course, and prognosis. The three most significant groups at risk of PML are patients with hematological malignancies mostly previously treated with immunotherapies but also untreated, patients with HIV infection, and patients using monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatments. Epidemiological data is scarce and partly conflicting, but the distribution of the subgroups appears to have changed. While there is no specific anti-JCPyV treatment, restoration of the immune function is the most effective approach to PML treatment. Research is warranted to determine whether immune checkpoint inhibitors could benefit certain PML subgroups. There are no systematic national or international records of PML diagnoses or a risk stratification algorithm, except for MS patients receiving natalizumab (NTZ). These are needed to improve PML risk assessment and to tailor better prevention strategies

Long-term outcomes after coronary artery bypass surgery in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Objective: To investigate the long-term outcomes of coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Methods: Patients with RA (n = 378) were retrospectively compared to patients without RA (n = 7560), all treated with CABG in a multicentre, population-based cohort register study in Finland. The outcomes were studied with propensity score-matching adjustment for baseline features. The median follow-up was 9.7 years.Results: Diagnosis of RA was associated with an increased risk of mortality after CABG compared to patients without RA (HR 1.50; CI 1.28-1.77; p p p = .060). Duration of RA before CABG (p = .011) and preoperative corticosteroid usage in RA (p = .041) were independently associated with higher mortality after CABG. There were no differences between the study groups in 30-d mortality or in the post-operative usage of cardiovascular medications.Conclusions: RA is independently associated with worse prognosis in coronary artery disease treated with CABG. Preoperative corticosteroid use and longer RA disease duration are additional risk factors for mortality.Key messagesPatients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have impaired long-term outcomes after coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG).Glucocorticoid use before CABG and duration of RA are associated with higher mortality.Special attention should be paid in secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease in RA patients after CABG.</p

Finnish multiple sclerosis patients treated with cladribine tablets: a nationwide registry study

BACKROUNDCladribine tablets for adult patients with highly active relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) have been available in Finland since 2018. Real-world data from different genetic and geographical backgrounds are needed to complement data from clinical trials.METHODSWe investigated the use of cladribine tablets in Finland in a non-interventional cohort study, based on real-world data from the nationwide Finnish MS registry. All eligible patients who had initiated treatment with cladribine tablets in 2018-2020 were included. Descriptive analyses for outcomes were conducted using summary statistics. Time-dependent endpoints were analyzed using cumulated events analysis based on 1-Kaplan-Meier estimates and curves. Subgroups were analyzed separately according to the number of previous disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) and the most common last preceding therapies.RESULTSData of 179 patients were analyzed. Median follow-up time was 19.0 months (interquartile range [IQR] 12.0-26.2). Of the 134 patients who were followed for at least 12 months, 112 patients (83.6%) remained relapse-free during follow-up. Mean annualized relapse rate (ARR) was 1.0 (standard deviation [SD] 0.89) at baseline, and 0.1 (SD 0.30) at follow-up. Patients with two or more previous DMTs had shorter time to first relapse (median 2.5 months, IQR 0.6-9.3) when compared to patients with 0-1 previous DMTs (median 11.4 months, IQR 8.7-13.1) (p=0.013). After excluding patients switching from fingolimod (n=33), a statistically significant difference in time to first relapse was no longer observed between the two groups (p=0.252). Adverse events (AEs) were reported in 30 patients (16.8%). The most frequent AE was headache (n=14, 7.8%). One patient (0.6%) died of cardiac arrest. Discontinuation of cladribine tablets was reported in nine patients (5.0%).CONCLUSIONThe mean ARR observed in this cohort was similar to what has been reported in clinical trials. Approximately half of the patients had used two or more previous DMTs before cladribine tablets. These patients had a shorter time to first relapse when compared to patients with 0-1 previous DMTs, mostly driven by early relapses in patients switching from fingolimod.</p