Stefan Greisenegger1, Leonhard Seyfang, Stefan Kiechl, Wilfried Lang, Julia Ferrari. 1. From the Department of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria (S.G.); Danube University Krems and Gesundheit Österreich GmbH/BIQG, Vienna, Austria (L.S.); Department of Neurology, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria (S.K.); and Department of Neurology, Krankenhaus Barmherzige Brüder, Vienna, Austria (W.L., J.F.).
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Apart from missing the approved time window of 4.5 hours, one frequent cause for withholding recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) treatment in patients with ischemic stroke is presentation with mild deficit on admission. We analyzed in a large cohort of patients whether rt-PA treatment is beneficial for this group of patients. METHODS: From a total of 54 917 patients with ischemic stroke prospectively enrolled in the Austrian Stroke Unit Registry, 890 patients with mild deficit defined as ≤5 points in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale treated with and without rt-PA were matched for age, sex, prestroke disability, stroke severity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, stroke cause, and clinical stroke syndrome. Functional outcome was assessed using the modified Rankin Scale at 3 months. For data visualization, weighted averages of outcome differences were computed for all age severity combinations and mapped to a color. For quantification of effect sizes, numbers need to treat were calculated. RESULTS: rt-PA-treated patients with mild deficit had a better outcome after 3 months compared with matched cases without rt-PA treatment (odds ratio [OR], 1.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17-1.89; P<0.001). In rt-PA-treated patients with mild deficit, the numbers need to treat ranged from 8 to 14. Improvement achieved by rt-PA treatment was observed along the entire age range. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, intravenous rt-PA treatment was beneficial for patients with mild deficit. Given the observational nature of these results, our data might serve as an incentive for future randomized controlled trials to provide a basis for optimal patient selection.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Apart from missing the approved time window of 4.5 hours, one frequent cause for withholding recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) treatment in patients with ischemic stroke is presentation with mild deficit on admission. We analyzed in a large cohort of patients whether rt-PA treatment is beneficial for this group of patients. METHODS: From a total of 54 917 patients with ischemic stroke prospectively enrolled in the Austrian Stroke Unit Registry, 890 patients with mild deficit defined as ≤5 points in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale treated with and without rt-PA were matched for age, sex, prestroke disability, stroke severity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, stroke cause, and clinical stroke syndrome. Functional outcome was assessed using the modified Rankin Scale at 3 months. For data visualization, weighted averages of outcome differences were computed for all age severity combinations and mapped to a color. For quantification of effect sizes, numbers need to treat were calculated. RESULTS: rt-PA-treated patients with mild deficit had a better outcome after 3 months compared with matched cases without rt-PA treatment (odds ratio [OR], 1.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17-1.89; P<0.001). In rt-PA-treated patients with mild deficit, the numbers need to treat ranged from 8 to 14. Improvement achieved by rt-PA treatment was observed along the entire age range. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, intravenous rt-PA treatment was beneficial for patients with mild deficit. Given the observational nature of these results, our data might serve as an incentive for future randomized controlled trials to provide a basis for optimal patient selection.
Authors: Danielle Byrne; John P Walsh; Gavin Sugrue; Emma Stanley; Michael Marnane; Cathal D Walsh; Peter Kelly; Sean Murphy; Eoin C Kavanagh; Peter J MacMahon Journal: Eur Radiol Date: 2017-11-13 Impact factor: 5.315
Authors: Aleksandra Yakhkind; Ryan A McTaggart; Mahesh V Jayaraman; Matthew S Siket; Brian Silver; Shadi Yaghi Journal: Front Neurol Date: 2016-06-10 Impact factor: 4.003