Isolated Cerebellar Ischemic Strokes Revealing Giant Cell Arteritis in an Elderly Adult

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A French observational study about treatment failure under fingolimod in 91 multiple sclerosis patients

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Post-Thrombolysis Recanalization in Stroke Referrals for Thrombectomy

International audienceBackground and Purpose—Whether all acute stroke patients with large vessel occlusion need to undergo intravenous thrombolysis before mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is debated as (1) the incidence of post-thrombolysis early recanalization (ER) is still unclear; (2) thrombolysis may be harmful in patients unlikely to recanalize; and, conversely, (3) transfer for MT may be unnecessary in patients highly likely to recanalize. Here, we determined the incidence and predictors of post-thrombolysis ER in patients referred for MT and derive ER prediction scores for trial design. Methods—Registries from 4 MT-capable centers gathering patients referred for MT and thrombolyzed either on site (mothership) or in a non MT-capable center (drip-and-ship) after magnetic resonance– or computed tomography–based imaging between 2015 and 2017. ER was identified on either first angiographic run or noninvasive imaging. In the magnetic resonance imaging subsample, thrombus length was determined on T2*-based susceptibility vessel sign. Independent predictors of no- ER were identified using multivariable logistic regression models, and scores were developed according to the magnitude of regression coefficients. Similar registries from 4 additional MT-capable centers were used as validation cohort. Results—In the derivation cohort (N=633), ER incidence was ≈20%. In patients with susceptibility vessel sign (n=498), no-ER was independently predicted by long thrombus, proximal occlusion, and mothership paradigm. A 6-point score derived from these variables showed strong discriminative power for no-ER (C statistic, 0.854) and was replicated in the validation cohort (n=353; C statistic, 0.888). A second score derived from the whole sample (including negative T2* or computed tomography–based imaging) also showed good discriminative power and was similarly validated. Highest grades on both scores predicted no-ER with >90% specificity, whereas low grades did not reliably predict ER. Conclusions—The substantial ER rate underlines the benefits derived from thrombolysis in bridging populations. Both prediction scores afforded high specificity for no-ER, but not for ER, which has implications for trial design

Intravenous thrombolysis and thrombectomy decisions in acute ischemic stroke: An interrater and intrarater agreement study

International audiencePurpose. - We aimed to assess agreement on intravenous tissue-plasminogen activator (IV tPA) and mechanical thrombectomy (MT) management decisions in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. Secondary objectives were to assess agreement on Diffusion-Weighted-Imaging-Alberta-Stroke-Program-EArly-CT-Score (DWI-ASPECTS), and clinicians' willingness to recruit patients in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing medical management with or without MT. Materials and Methods. - Studies assessing agreement of IV tPA and MT were systematically reviewed. An electronic portfolio of 41 AIS patients was sent to randomly selected providers at French stroke centers. Raters were asked 4 questions for each case: (1) What is the DWI-ASPECTS? (2) Would you perform IV tPA? (3) Would you perform MT? (4) Would you include the patient in a RCT comparing standard medical therapy with or without MT? Twenty responders were randomly selected to study intrarater agreement. Agreement was assessed using Fleiss' Kappa statistics. Results. - The review yielded two single center studies involving 2-5 raters, with various results. The electronic survey was answered by 86 physicians (60 vascular neurologists and 26 interventional neuroradiologists). The interrater agreement was moderate for IV tPA treatment decisions (kappa = 0.565 [0.420-0.680]), but only fair for MT (kappa = 0.383 [0.289-0.491]) and for combined treatment decisions (kappa = 0.399 [0.320-0.486]). The intrarater agreement was at least substantial for the majority of raters. The interrater agreement for DWI-ASPECTS was fair (kappa = 0.325 [0.276-0.387]). Physicians were willing to include a mean of 14 +/- 9 patients (33.1% +/- 21.7%) in a RCT. Conclusion. - Disagreements regarding the use of IVtPA or MT in the management of AIS patients remain frequent. Further trials are needed to resolve the numerous areas of uncertainty. (C) 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved