Stroke : patient characteristics, efficacy of a stroke unit and evaluation of hemodilution therapy

Abstract

Stroke is a major health problem in all developed countries. These studies, performed in a stroke unit at a medical department, were designed to characterize essential clinical features of the different cerebrovascular disorders on admission to hospital, to evaluate the efficacy of admitting unselected stroke patients to a stroke unit and, to evaluate hemodilution as a therapeutical regime in patients with cerebral infarction. A prospective registry included 409 patients admitted to the stroke unit over a five-year period. Modern diagnostic equipment (CT scan and CSF analyses) and strict diagnostic criteria revealed a diagnostic distribution of 11% hemorrhagic, 76% ischemic cerebrovascular lesions and 13% TIAs. Mean age varied between 65.8 and 77.5 years in the various diagnostic groups with the highest in patients with embolic cerebral infarctions. Concomitant disorders affecting the cardiovascular system were highly prevalent and only 14% was free of such diseases prior to the stroke. In a comparative prospective study, over 16 months, no differences were found between patients treated in the stroke unit (n = 110) and the general medical wards (n = 183) regarding prognostic indicators on admission such as age, concomitant disorders and neurological symptoms. The stroke patients treated in the stroke unit had a statistically significant better prognosis regarding functional outcome and the need for long-term hospitalization was reduced up to one year after the stroke when compared to patients treated in general medical wards. All stroke patients seemed to benefit with the possible exception of patients in coma on admission. These results were achieved within the same or shorter length of initial hospital stay for patients in the stroke unit. Neither overall mortality, nor mortality in subgroups of prognostic importance was significantly affected by the stroke unit regime. Rapid hemodilution in the early phase of cerebral infarction by the combination of venesection and administration of dextran 40 was evaluated in a prospective controlled trial. After randomization 52 hemodi- luted and 50 control patients were comparable in prognostic variables. Signs of blood-brain-barrier breakdown and hemorrhagic admixture to the cerebrospinal fluid in the acute phase were less frequent in hemodiluted subjects. The hemodi luted patients showed a significantly higher degree of early improvement and fewer progressions. Neurological and functional disability in survivors and need for long-term hospitalization was significantly reduced at 3 months and at one year after the stroke compared to controls. Mortality was not affected.digitalisering@um