Organization of a United States county system for comprehensive acute stroke care.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Organized systems of care have the potential to improve acute stroke care delivery. The current report describes the experience of implementing a county-wide system of spoke-and-hub stroke neurology receiving centers (SNRC) that incorporated several comprehensive stroke center recommendations. METHODS: Observational study of patients with suspected stroke of <5 hours duration transported by emergency medical system personnel to an SNRC during the first year of this system. RESULTS: A total of 1360 patients with suspected stroke were evaluated at 9 hub SNRC, of which 553 (40.7%) had a discharge diagnosis of ischemic stroke. Of these 553, intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator was administered to 110 patients (19.9% of ischemic strokes). Care at the 6 neurointerventional-ready SNRC was a major focus in which 25.1% (99/395) of the patients with ischemic stroke received acute intravenous or intra-arterial reperfusion therapy, and in which provision of such therapies was less common with milder stroke, older age, and Hispanic origin. The door-to-needle time for intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator met the <60-minute target in only 25% of patients and was 37% longer (P=0.0001) when SNRC were neurointerventional-ready. CONCLUSIONS: A stroke system that incorporates features of comprehensive stroke centers can be effectively implemented with substantial rates of acute reperfusion therapy administration. Experiences potentially useful to broader implementation of comprehensive stroke centers are considered.

Carotid intima-media thickness is increased in patients with mucopolysaccharidoses.

BACKGROUND: The feasibility of carotid artery intima-media thickness (C-IMT), an established cardiovascular disease marker, as a cardiac risk marker in mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) patients was explored. OBJECTIVES: To determine if C-IMT is abnormal in MPS versus unaffected controls, and if C-IMT correlates with coronary artery diameter in MPS. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Measurements of C-IMT via neck ultrasound and echocardiographic parameters, including coronary artery diameters, were obtained from MPS and control patients, and compared. RESULTS: Sixteen MPS subjects (6 MPS I, 6 MPS II, 2 MPS III, 1 MPS VI, 1 MPS VII) and sixteen age, ethnicity, and gender-matched controls were enrolled. Median MPS and control subject ages were 8.3±4.5 and 8.6±4.3 years, respectively (p=0.73). Mean MPS and control C-IMTs were 0.54±0.070 and 0.48±0.034 mm (p=0.0029). No differences in left main, left anterior descending, or right coronary artery diameters were seen between MPS and controls. A significant proportion of MPS subjects had mitral insufficiency (14/16; p=0.0002), aortic insufficiency (10/16; p=0.0021), and left ventricular dilatation (7/16, p=0.037) versus controls. C-IMT did not correlate significantly with age, height, weight, coronary measurements, or duration of treatment. CONCLUSION: C-IMT in MPS patients is increased compared to matched controls, likely reflective of arterial intima-medial glycosaminoglycan accumulation. MPS subjects demonstrated a high percentage of left-sided valvular insufficiency and ventricular dilatation. Additional studies should be performed in MPS patients to determine if C-IMT correlates with arterial elasticity, biomarkers of vascular dysfunction, and higher risk of cardiovascular events.