Fighting Against Stroke in Latin America: A Joint Effort of Medical Professional Societies and Governments.

Introduction: Stroke is one of the leading causes of death in Latin America, a region with countless gaps to be addressed to decrease its burden. In 2018, at the first Latin American Stroke Ministerial Meeting, stroke physician and healthcare manager representatives from 13 countries signed the Declaration of Gramado with the priorities to improve the region, with the commitment to implement all evidence-based strategies for stroke care. The second meeting in March 2020 reviewed the achievements in 2 years and discussed new objectives. This paper will review the 2-year advances and future plans of the Latin American alliance for stroke. Method: In March 2020, a survey based on the Declaration of Gramado items was sent to the neurologists participants of the Stroke Ministerial Meetings. The results were confirmed with representatives of the Ministries of Health and leaders from the countries at the second Latin American Stroke Ministerial Meeting. Results: In 2 years, public stroke awareness initiatives increased from 25 to 75% of countries. All countries have started programs to encourage physical activity, and there has been an increase in the number of countries that implement, at least partially, strategies to identify and treat hypertension, diabetes, and lifestyle risk factors. Programs to identify and treat dyslipidemia and atrial fibrillation still remained poor. The number of stroke centers increased from 322 to 448, all of them providing intravenous thrombolysis, with an increase in countries with stroke units. All countries have mechanical thrombectomy, but mostly restricted to a few private hospitals. Pre-hospital organization remains limited. The utilization of telemedicine has increased but is restricted to a few hospitals and is not widely available throughout the country. Patients have late, if any, access to rehabilitation after hospital discharge. Conclusion: The initiative to collaborate, exchange experiences, and unite societies and governments to improve stroke care in Latin America has yielded good results. Important advances have been made in the region in terms of increasing the number of acute stroke care services, implementing reperfusion treatments and creating programs for the detection and treatment of risk factors. We hope that this approach can reduce inequalities in stroke care in Latin America and serves as a model for other under-resourced environments.

Incidence, risk factors, prognosis, and health-related quality of life after stroke in a low-resource community in Chile (ÑANDU): a prospective population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Stroke is a leading cause of disability and death worldwide. The best estimates of local, national, and global burden of stroke are derived from prospective population-based studies. We aimed to investigate the incidence, risk factors, long-term prognosis, care, and quality of life after stroke in the Ñuble region of Chile. METHODS: We did a prospective community-based study with use of multiple overlapping sources of hospitalised, ambulatory, and deceased cases. Standardised diagnostic criteria were used to identify and follow up all cases occurring in the resident population of the Ñuble region, Chile (in a low-income rural-urban population including predominantly people of Indigenous-European heritage), for 1 year. Participants were included if they had a clinical diagnosis of stroke confirmed according to the study criteria. All cases were adjudicated by vascular neurologists. Incidence rates of first-ever stroke were calculated from the population of Ñuble according to the 2017 national census. FINDINGS: From April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016, we ascertained 1103 stroke cases, of which 890 (80·7%) were first-ever incident cases. The mean age of patients with first-ever stroke was 70·3 years (SD 14·1) and 443 (49·8%) were women. A CT scan was obtained in 801 (90%) of 890 patients (mean time from symptom onset to scan of 13·4 h (SD 29·8). The incidence of first-ever stroke age-adjusted to the world population was 121·7 (95% CI 113·7-130·1) per 100 000. The age-adjusted incidence rates, per 100 000 inhabitants, by main pathological subtypes were as follows: ischaemic stroke (101·5 [95% CI 90·9-113·0]); intracerebral haemorrhage (17·9 [13·5-23·4]), and subarachnoid haemorrhage (4·2 [2·1-7·3]). The 30-day case-fatality rate was 24·6% (21·9-27·6). At 6 months after the stroke, 55·9% (432 of 773) of cases had died or were disabled, which increased to 61·0% (456 of 747) at 12 months. Health-related quality of life in survivors was low at 6 months, improving slightly at 12 months after the stroke. INTERPRETATION: The incidence of stroke in this low-resource population was higher than our previous finding in northern Chile and within the mid-range of most population-based stroke studies. This result was due mainly to a higher incidence of ischaemic stroke, probably associated with increasing age and a high prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors in the population studied. Our findings suggest that more should be done for the prevention and care of stroke in communities like the Ñuble population. FUNDING: The National Agency for Research and Development and the Technology-Health Research Fund, Clínica Alemana de Santiago, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Meyers Squibb, The Herminda Martin Clinical Hospital of Chillán, Universidad Mayor, and Universidad de Concepción.

Stroke Care and Application of Thrombolysis in Ibero-America: Report From the SITS-SIECV Ibero-American Stroke Register

Background and Purpose: Standardized registries may provide valuable data to further improve stroke care. Our aim was to obtain updated information about characteristics of stroke patients and management of stroke across the Ibero-American countries, using a common in-hospital registry (Safe Implementation of Treatments in Stroke­Sociedad Iberoamericana de Enfermedades Cerebrovasculares) as a basis for further quality improvement. Methods: Data for this study were entered into the Safe Implementation of Treatments in Stroke registry from September 2009 to December 2013 by 58 centers in 14 countries. Data included demographics, risk factors, onset-to-door time, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, stroke subtype, ischemic stroke etiology, treatments, 3-month mortality, and modified Rankin Scale score. Time to treatment was also recorded for patients treated with thrombolysis. Results: Five thousand four hundred one patients were registered; median age, 65 years; 46% women; 3915 (72.5%) ischemic strokes; 686 (13.7%) hemorrhagic strokes; 213 (4.3%) subarachnoid hemorrhages; 414 (8.3%) transient ischemic attacks; and 31 (0.6%) cerebral vein thrombosis. The most prevalent risk factors were hypertension (71.3%), dyslipidemia (35.2%), and diabetes mellitus (23.6%). Atrial fibrillation was present in 15.1%. Three hundred one ischemic strokes were treated with intravenous thrombolysis (IVT; 7.7%). Patients undergoing IVT were more severely affected (median baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, 11 versus 6). The rate of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhages after IVT was 5.7%. At 3 months, 60.3% of IVT-treated patients and 59.1% of untreated patients were independent (modified Rankin Scale score, 0­2). Mortality was 11.4% in treated and 12.8% in untreated patients. Conclusions: Safe Implementation of Treatments in Stroke­Sociedad Iberoamericana de Enfermedades Cerebrovasculares is the largest registry of a general stroke population and the first study to evaluate the level of IVT use in Ibero-America. It provides valuable information that may help to improve the quality of stroke care in the Ibero-American region.

Priorities to reduce the burden of stroke in Latin American countries.

The large and increasing burden of stroke in Latin American countries, and the need to meet the UN and WHO requirements for reducing the burden from non-communicable disorders (including stroke), brought together stroke experts and representatives of the Ministries of Health of 13 Latin American countries for the 1st Latin American Stroke Ministerial meeting in Gramado, Brazil, to discuss the problem and identify ways of cooperating to reduce the burden of stroke in the region. Discussions were focused on the regional and country-specific activities associated with stroke prevention and treatment, including public stroke awareness, prevention strategies, delivery and organisation of care, clinical practice gaps, and unmet needs. The meeting culminated with the adoption of the special Gramado Declaration, signed by all Ministerial officials who attended the meeting. With agreed priorities for stroke prevention, treatment, and research, an opportunity now exists to translate this Declaration into an action plan to reduce the burden of stroke.

A prototype worldwide survey of diagnostic and treatment modalities for stroke.

Stroke is a global health problem. However, very little is known about stroke care in low- to middle-income countries. Obtaining country-specific information could enable us to develop targeted programs to improve stroke care. We surveyed neurologists from 12 countries (Chile, Georgia, Nigeria, Qatar, India, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Denmark, Brazil, Belgium, and Bangladesh) using a web-based survey tool. Data were analyzed both for individual countries and by income classification (low income, lower middle income, upper middle income, and high income). Six percent (n = 200) of 3123 targeted physicians completed the survey. There was a significant correlation between income classification and access and affordability of head computed tomography scan (ρ = .215, P = .002), transthoracic echocardiogram (ρ = .181, P = .012), extracranial carotid Doppler ultrasound (ρ = .312, P ≤ .000), cardiac telemetry (ρ = .353, P ≤ .000), and stroke treatments such as intravenous thrombolysis (ρ = .276, P ≤ .001), and carotid endarterectomy (ρ = .214, P ≤ .004); stroke quality measures such as venous thromboembolism prophylaxis during hospital stay (ρ = .163, P ≤ .022), discharge from hospital on antithrombotic therapy (ρ = .266, P ≤ .000), consideration for acute thrombolytic therapy (ρ = .358, P ≤ .000), and antithrombotic therapy prescribed by end of hospital day 2 (ρ = .334, P ≤ .000). However, there was no significant correlation between income classification and the access and affordability of antiplatelet agents, vitamin K antagonists and statins, anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation/flutter, statin medication, stroke education, and assessment for rehabilitation. Our study shows that it is possible to get an overview of stroke treatment measures in different countries by conducting an internet-based survey. The generalizability of the findings may be limited by the low survey response rate.

Long-term adherence to national guidelines for secondary prevention of ischemic stroke: a prospective cohort study in a public hospital in Chile.

BACKGROUND: Clinical guidelines for the secondary prevention of ischemic stroke have been developed, but their publication is insufficient to make them effective. Our aim was to investigate adherence to Chilean guidelines, its associated variables, and to determine prognosis at follow-up. METHODS: We prospectively included all consecutive patients discharged with a diagnosis of ischemic stroke from Valparaíso Regional Hospital between July 15, 2007 and January 15, 2008. Patient follow-up was performed at 5, 10, and 15 months using a standardized questionnaire. We used the Chi-square and Fisher exact tests to compare discrete variables and multivariate logistic regression analysis to adjust for potential confounding factors. A Cox regression model was fitted. RESULTS: We included 156 patients; 128 patients (82%) completed follow-up. Adherence to oral anticoagulation decreased significantly compared to all other medications during follow-up (P = .004). This was not associated with any of the studied variables. Adherence to antihypertensives, statins, and hypoglycemic medications remained >65% without a significant variation. Patients with cardioembolic stroke had greater mortality (P = .003) and recurrence rates. CONCLUSIONS: The observed significant decrease in adherence to oral anticoagulation in patients with cardioembolic stroke suggests a need for the implementation of specific strategies to achieve the desired secondary prevention goals in these patients. Future research into the evaluation of other factors that could be associated with the lack of adherence to these guidelines, measurements of therapeutic goals, and new therapeutic strategies that are easier to use and that are associated with less risk could improve the prognosis of these patients.

The Iberoamerican Cerebrovascular Diseases Society: 15 years moving forward.

The Iberoamerican Cerebrovascular Diseases Society was founded 15 years ago. Being aware of the increased burden of stroke in Latin America, its members have been working to enhance the knowledge on stroke among physicians in the region, to increase public awareness on stroke warning signs, and to motivate public health authorities to implement programs that speed the access of stroke patients to specialized units. Besides organizing annual meetings that have convened an increasing number of attendees, the Society has been actively involved in the elaboration of guidelines for stroke classification and therapy that will be practical for use at a regional level, as well as in the consolidation of links with other stroke societies to increase the diffusion of local stroke issues to the medical community at large. The Society is also involved in the Safe Implementation of Treatment in Stroke trial as well as in other studies that will increase the knowledge on stroke management and prognosis in the region.

Incidence of lobar and non-lobar spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage in a predominantly Hispanic-Mestizo population--the PISCIS stroke project: a community-based prospective study in Iquique, Chile.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) in Hispanics is high, especially of non-lobar ICH. Our aim was to ascertain prospectively the incidence of first-ever spontaneous ICH (SICH) stratified by localisation in a Hispanic-Mestizo population of the north of Chile. METHODS: Between July 2000 and June 2002 all possible cases of ICH were ascertained from multiple overlapping sources. The cases were allocated according to localisation. Those with vascular malformations or non-identifiable localisations were excluded. RESULTS: We identified a total of 69 cases of first-ever ICH. Of these, 64 (92.7%) had SICH, of which we allocated 58 cases (84%) to non-lobar or lobar localisation. The mean age was 57.3 +/- 17 years, and 62.3% of the subjects were male. The age-adjusted incidence rates were 13.8 (non-lobar) and 4.9 (lobar) per 100,000 person-years. Non-lobar SICH was more frequent in young males and lobar SICH in older women. The non-lobar-to-lobar ratio was similar to previous findings in Hispanics. Hypertension was more frequent in non-lobar SICH and in diabetes, heavy drinking and antithrombotic use in lobar SICH, but in none significantly. There was no association between localisation and prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of non-lobar SICH was high, but lower than in most non-white populations. This lower incidence could be due to a lower population prevalence of risk factors, a higher socioeconomic level in this population, or chance.

[Primary vasculitis of the central nervous system: report of one case]. / Vasculitis primaria del sistema nervioso central, diagnóstico diferencial de demencia subaguda: Caso clínico.

A primary central nervous system vasculitis is an uncommon and invalidating disease, which has a fatal course if left untreated. We report a 63 year-old woman presenting with a history of two months of cognitive impairment, dysarthria, gait instability and tremor. After four months of evolution a right hemianopsia and a flaccid paresis of upper right limb appeared. A brain biopsy was performed and the histological findings confirmed the suspicion of primary cerebral vasculitis. The patient was treated with cyclophosphamide and prednisone, observing a partial recovery of cognitive and motor function.

Stroke epidemiology, prevention, and management strategies at a regional level: Latin America and the Caribbean.

Stroke is a major health problem in Latin American and Caribbean countries. In this paper, we review the epidemiology, aetiology, and management of stroke in the region based on a systematic search of articles published in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. Stroke mortality is higher than in developed countries but rates are declining. Population-based studies show variations in incidence of strokes: lower rates of ischaemic stroke and similar rates of intracranial haemorrhages, compared with other regions. A significant proportion of strokes in these populations can be attributed to a few preventable risk factors. Some countries have published national clinical guidelines, although much needs to be done in the organisation of care and rehabilitation. Even though the burden of stroke is high, there is a paucity of information for implementing evidence-based management. The Global Stroke Initiative, the WHO STEPS Stroke surveillance, and WHO-PREMISE projects provide opportunities for surveillance at institutional and community levels.

Incidence, case-fatality rate, and prognosis of ischaemic stroke subtypes in a predominantly Hispanic-Mestizo population in Iquique, Chile (PISCIS project): a community-based incidence study.

BACKGROUND: Incidence of ischaemic stroke subtypes, classified by cause, seems to vary between communities. We aimed to prospectively ascertain the incidence of first-ever ischaemic stroke in a predominantly Hispanic-Mestizo population in the northern desertic region of Chile. METHODS: Between July, 2000, and June, 2002, all patients with possible stroke or transient ischaemic attacks were identified from multiple overlapping sources and were rapidly assessed by two field neurologists. All identified patients were diagnosed by at least two stroke neurologists according to Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST) definitions and were followed up at 6 months. Annual incidence rates were age adjusted to WHO, European, and US populations by the direct method to allow comparisons. FINDINGS: A total of 239 ischaemic strokes were identified, of which 185 (77%) were first-ever cases. 151 (82%) patients were hospitalised, of whom only 70 (38%) were assessed within 6 h of symptom onset. The mean age of patients was 66.4 years (SD 14.9) and 56% were men. The crude annual incidence rates (per 100 000) according to stroke subtype were: cardioembolic, 9.3; large-artery disease, 2.0; small-vessel disease, 15.8; other determined cause, 0.2; and undetermined cause, 17.4. Hypertension was the most common cardiovascular risk factor in all subtypes and atrial fibrillation was the most common cause of cardioembolic stroke. Case fatality at 30 days was highest in cardioembolic strokes (28%) and lowest in small-vessel disease (0%). Dependency or death at 6 months was also highest in cardioembolic strokes (62%) and lowest in small-vessel disease (21%). INTERPRETATION: Incidence and prognosis of small vessel and cardioembolic infarction was similar to that in other populations and incidence of large-artery atherothrombotic infarction was lower than in most previous reports. Hypertension and atrial fibrillation were the most common risk factor and cause, respectively, of ischemic stroke in this population. These findings should help the national stroke programme in the prevention of cardioembolic stroke, increase access to specialists and acute brain imaging and vascular studies, and improve stroke care.

Incidence, 30-day case-fatality rate, and prognosis of stroke in Iquique, Chile: a 2-year community-based prospective study (PISCIS project).

BACKGROUND: The epidemiology of stroke in Latin-American populations and variation of subtypes between communities are unclear. Our aim was to ascertain prospectively the incidence of first-ever stroke in the predominantly Hispanic-Mestizo population of Iquique, a city in the northern desert region of Chile. METHODS: We prospectively identified all possible cases of stroke and transient ischaemic attacks between July 1, 2000, and June 30, 2002, from several overlapping sources. Patients were rapidly assessed by two field neurologists. Standard definitions for incident cases, stroke, transient ischaemic attack, pathological type, and infarction subtype were used. All cases identified were adjudicated by at least two stroke neurologists and followed up at 6 months. Incidence rates of first-ever strokes were calculated from the population of Iquique (214 526) according to the national census of 2002. FINDINGS: Of 380 cases of stroke identified, 292 were incident. CT scans were done in 267 (91%) patients and the mean time to scan was 2.2 days. The hospital admission rate was 71% (207/292). The overall age-adjusted incidence rate of first-ever stroke was 140.1 per 100,000 (95% CI 124.0-156.2). The incidence rates per 100,000 according to pathological type were: infarcts 87.3, intracerebral haemorrhage 27.6, and subarachnoid haemorrhage 6.2. The 30 day and 6-month case-fatality rates were 23.3% and 33.0%, respectively. INTERPRETATION: Our results show incidence rates of stroke similar to those reported in other community studies. Although the proportion of intracerebral haemorrhages was higher than reported in previous studies, the overall incidence was not, which could indicate a slightly lower incidence of ischaemic strokes in this population than in other countries. The prognosis was similar to that found in other population-based studies.