Population analysis of ischemic stroke burden and risk factors in the United States in the pre- and post-mechanical thrombectomy eras.

OBJECTIVES: To provide an updated analysis of the burden of ischemic stroke in the United States. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using the Global Burden of Disease database, we estimated age-standardized, population-adjusted rates of incidence, prevalence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years from 2010 to 2019, with regional comparisons. Deaths and disability-adjusted life years were compared in 2010-2014 and 2015-2019 to assess the potential effect of increased mechanical thrombectomy use. The attributable, disability-adjusted life years for twenty risk factors were estimated, ranked, and trended. RESULTS: Incident ischemic strokes decreased by 11.4 % across the study period from 65.7 (55.9-77.3) to 58.2 (49.0-69.5) per 100,000. Prevalence (-8.2 %), mortality (-1.9 %), and disability-adjusted life years (-4.4 %) all declined. All regions showed reductions in all burden measures, with the South consistently having the highest burden yet the largest reduction in incidence (-12.6 %) and prevalence (-10.5 %). Deaths (p < 0.0001) and DALYs (p < 0.0001) significantly differed between the pre- and post-mechanical thrombectomy eras. Total attributable disability-adjusted life years for all risk factors decreased from 304.7 (258.5-353.2) in 2010 to 288.9 (242.2-337.2) in 2019. In 2019, the risk factors with the most disability-adjusted life years were hypertension, hyperglycemia, and obesity with no state-based differences. Across the study period, disability-adjusted life years attributable to leading risk factors decreased among men but decreased less or increased among women. CONCLUSIONS: The burden of ischemic stroke decreased during the study period. Declines in deaths and disability-adjusted life years suggest a mitigating impact of mechanical thrombectomy. While disability-adjusted life years attributable to leading risk factors decreased, sex-based disparities were observed.

Automatic image processing pipeline for tracking longitudinal vessel changes in magnetic resonance angiography.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral vessel diameter changes objectively and automatically derived from longitudinal magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) facilitate quantification of vessel changes and further modeling. PURPOSE: To characterize longitudinal changes in intracranial vessel diameter using time-of-flight (TOF) MRA. STUDY TYPE: Retrospective longitudinal study. SUBJECT POPULATION: IN all, 112 pediatric patients, aged 9.96 ± 4.59 years, with craniopharyngioma from 2006-2011 scanned annually. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 1.5T and 3T TOF MRA. STATISTICAL TESTS: Chi-square and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests. ASSESSMENT: Manual measurements using interventional angiography was established as a reference standard for diameter measurements. Constant and linear quantile regression with absolute difference, percentage difference, and relative difference was used for outlier detection. RESULTS: Major vessels surrounding the circle of Willis were successfully segmented except for posterior communicating arteries, mostly due to disease-related hypoplasia. Diameter measurements were calculated at 1-mm segments with a median computed vessel diameter of 1.25 mm. Diameter distortion due to registration was within 0.04 mm for 99% of vessel segments. Outlier detection using quantile regression detected less than 4.34% as being outliers. Outliers were more frequent in smaller vessels and proximity to bifurcations (P < 0.001). DATA CONCLUSION: Using the proposed method, objective changes in vessel diameter can be acquired noninvasively from routine longitudinal imaging. High-throughput analyses of imaging-derived vascular trees combined with clinical and treatment parameters will allow rigorous modeling of vessel diameter changes. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;50:1063-1074.

Deep brain stimulation for the obsessive-compulsive and Tourette-like symptoms of Kleefstra syndrome.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been reported to have beneficial effects in severe, treatment-refractory cases of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome (TS). In this report, the authors present the first case in which DBS was used to treat the neuropsychiatric symptoms of Kleefstra syndrome, a rare genetic disorder characterized by childhood hypotonia, intellectual disability, distinctive facial features, and myriad psychiatric and behavioral disturbances. A 24-year-old female patient with childhood hypotonia, developmental delay, and diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder, OCD, and TS refractory to medical management underwent the placement of bilateral ventral capsule/ventral striatum (VC/VS) DBS leads, with clinical improvement. Medical providers and family observed gradual and progressive improvement in the patient's compulsive behaviors, coprolalia, speech, and social interaction. Symptoms recurred when both DBS electrodes failed because of lead fracture and dislodgement, although the clinical benefits were restored by lead replacement. The symptomatic and functional improvements observed in this case of VC/VS DBS for Kleefstra syndrome suggest a novel indication for DBS worthy of further investigation.

Dual antiplatelet use in the management of COVID-19 associated acute ischemic stroke reocclusion.

INTRO: SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection is associated with acute ischemic stroke (AIS), which may be due to a prothrombotic state. Early reports have suggested high rates of reocclusion following mechanical thrombectomy (MT) with poor radiographic and clinical outcomes. We report our early experience using intra-procedural antithrombotics to address SARS-CoV-2 reocclusion. METHODS: We identified 6 patients that experienced early reocclusion after MT for COVID-19-associated AIS through retrospective chart review abstracting their basic demographics, COVID-19 status, and stroke management. All these patients were treated after reocclusion with aspirin and cangrelor intra-procedurally, the latter of which was converted to ticagrelor post-procedurally. Some patients additionally received argatroban infusion intraprocedurally. RESULTS: Mean age was 54. There were 3 post-procedural and 3 intra-procedural re-occlusions. After repeat thrombectomy and treatment with aspirin and cangrelor, those with post-procedure reocclusion did not show further reocclusion, while those with intra-procedural reocclusion showed radiographic improvement with intraprocedural cangrelor administration. Outcomes for these patients were poor, with a median mRS of 4. Two patients developed petechial hemorrhage of their stroke which was managed conservatively, and one developed a retroperitoneal hemorrhage from femoral access requiring transfusion. There were no patients who developed new parenchymal hematomas. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 AIS may be associated with a hypercoagulable state which risks malignant reocclusion complicating MT. We found antithrombotic treatment periprocedural cangrelor with or without argatroban transitioned to oral aspirin with ticagrelor to be a viable method for management of these patients.

Initial experience with transcarotid arterial revascularization with flow reversal in the management of symptomatic carotid stenosis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of transcarotid arterial revascularization (TCAR) as a viable intervention in the treatment of symptomatic carotid artery stenosis. METHODS: The authors performed a retrospective review of prospectively collected data of the first 62 consecutive patients treated at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, who underwent a TCAR for symptomatic carotid artery stenosis between November 11, 2020, and March 31, 2022. Relevant demographic, comorbidity, and perioperative data were extracted through retrospective chart review. Patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis were excluded. The authors also evaluated patients using pertinent physiological and anatomical high-risk criteria as described in the ROADSTER trial. Risk factors were aggregated to form a composite risk total for every patient. The primary outcome of this study was the 30-day adverse outcome rate of stroke, myocardial infarction, and/or death. Periprocedural stroke was identified by clinical symptoms and radiographic findings. Secondary endpoints included device and procedural success, 30-day mortality, 30-day stroke rate, and postoperative complications. RESULTS: The authors analyzed the first 62 patients with > 50% symptomatic carotid artery stenosis who underwent TCAR at their institution. The mean age of the cohort was 71.5 years, and the cohort was predominantly male (67.7%). The most common high-risk medical criteria were age older than 75 years (45.3%) and severe coronary artery disease (13.6%). The most common anatomical high-risk criteria were high bifurcation (35.1%) and contralateral stenosis requiring treatment within 30 days (15.8%). Fifty percent of patients had at least 1 medical high-risk criterion, 50% had at least 1 anatomical risk criterion, and 82% of patients had 2 or more high-risk criteria of any kind. Among this group, all patients (100%) underwent successful revascularization, with 1 (1.6%) requiring intraprocedural conversion to carotid endarterectomy. Postprocedurally, there was 1 nondisabling stroke (1.6%) and 3 deaths (4.8%) within 30 days of the procedure, with only 1 death directly attributable to the procedure. One patient (1.6%) experienced a neck hematoma. In total, 4 patients (6.5%) experienced a major complication. The overall complication rate was 8.0%. CONCLUSIONS: The authors' initial experience with TCAR suggests that it might provide an effective alternative to carotid endarterectomy and carotid artery stenting in the management of symptomatic carotid stenosis in patients with high-risk anatomical and medical characteristics.

Minimizing blood loss with direct percutaneous polymethylmethacrylate embolization before corpectomy for vascular spinal tumors.

Background: Standard surgical treatment for vascular spinal tumors, including renal cell carcinomas and hemangiomas, may result in significant blood loss despite preoperative arterial tumor embolization. Methods: This is a retrospective review of 12 patients who underwent direct percutaneous polymethylmethacrylate embolization (DPPE) with or without feeding artery embolization before partial or complete corpectomy for the resection of vascular spinal tumors (2013-2018). Estimated blood loss (EBL) was compared to the blood loss reported in the literature and to patients receiving standard arterial embolization before surgery. Results: The mean EBL for 12 patients was 1030 mL; three of 12 patients required blood transfusions. For the single level corpectomies, the EBL ranged from 100 mL to 3900 mL (mean 640 mL). This mean blood loss was not increased in patients receiving only DPPE preoperatively versus those patients receiving preoperative arterial embolization in addition to DPPE (1005 vs. 1416 mL); in fact, the EBL was significantly reduced for those undergoing DPPE alone. Conclusion: In this initial study, nine patients treated with DPPE embolization alone before spinal tumor resection demonstrated reduction of intraoperative blood loss compared to three patients having arterial embolization with DDPE.

Long-term effect of field triage on times to endovascular treatment for emergent large vessel occlusion.

BACKGROUND: Delays to endovascular therapy (EVT) for stroke may be mitigated with direct field triage to EVT centers. We sought to compare times to treatment over a 5.5 year span between two adjacent states, one with field triage and one without, served by a single comprehensive stroke center (CSC). METHODS: During the study period, one of the two states implemented severity-based triage for suspected emergent large vessel occlusion, while in the other state, patients were transported to the closest hospital regardless of severity. We compared times to treatment and clinical outcomes between these two states. We also performed a matched pairs analysis, matching on date treated and distance from field to CSC. RESULTS: 639 patients met the inclusion criteria, 407 in State 1 (with field triage) and 232 in State 2 (without field triage). In State 1, scene to EVT decreased 6% (or 8.13 min, p=0.0004) every year but no decrease was observed for State 2 (<1%, p=0.94). Cumulatively over 5.5 years, there was a reduction of 43 min in time to EVT in State 1, but no change in State 2. Lower rates of disability were seen in State 1, both for the entire cohort (all OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.40, p=0.0032) and for those independent at baseline (1.36, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.59, p=0.0003). CONCLUSIONS: Comparing adjacent states over time, the implementation of severity-based field triage significantly reduced time to EVT.

Safety of Sheathless Transradial Balloon Guide Catheter Placement for Acute Stroke Thrombectomy.

BACKGROUND: Transradial access has been described for mechanical thrombectomy in acute stroke, and proximal balloon occlusion has been shown to improve recanalization and outcomes. However, sheathed access requires a larger total catheter diameter at the access site. We aimed to characterize the safety of sheathless transradial balloon guide catheter use in acute stroke intervention. METHODS: Consecutive patients who underwent sheathless right-sided transradial access for thrombectomy with a balloon guide catheter were identified in a prospectively collected dataset from 2019 to 2021. Demographics, procedure details, and short-term outcomes were collected and reported with descriptive statistics. RESULTS: A total of 48 patients (20 women) with a mean age of 72.3 years were identified. Of patients, 56.3% had occlusions in the left-sided circulation; 35 (72.9%) had M1 occlusions, 7 (14.6%) had M2 occlusions, and 6 (12.5%) had internal carotid artery occlusions. Tissue plasminogen activator was administered to 16 (33.3%) patients. Five (10.4%) patients underwent intraprocedural carotid stenting. The cohort had successful reperfusion after a median of 1 (interquartile range: 1, 2) pass. Median time from access to recanalization was 31 (interquartile range: 25, 53) minutes. A postprocedural Thrombolysis In Cerebral Infarction score of ≥2b was achieved in 46 (95.8%) patients. Five patients had wrist access site hematomas. All hematomas resolved with warm compresses, and no further intervention was required. CONCLUSIONS: Sheathless radial access using a balloon guide catheter may be safely performed for acute ischemic stroke with excellent radiographic outcomes. Further investigation is warranted to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of sheathless compared with sheathed transradial balloon guide access.

Predicting the degree of difficulty of the trans-radial approach in cerebral angiography.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate anatomical and clinical factors that make trans-radial cerebral angiography more difficult. METHODS: A total of 52 trans-radial diagnostic angiograms were evaluated in a tertiary care stroke center from December 2019 until March 2020. We analyzed a number of anatomical variables to evaluate for correlation to outcome measures of angiography difficulty. RESULTS: The presence of a proximal radial loop had a higher conversion to femoral access (p<0.03). The presence of a large diameter aortic arch (p<0.01), double subclavian innominate curve (p<0.01), left proximal common carotid artery (CCA) loop (p<0.001), acute subclavian vertebral angle (p<0.01), and absence of bovine aortic arch anatomy (p=0.03) were associated with more difficult trans-radial cerebral angiography and increased fluoroscopy time-per-vessel. CONCLUSION: The presence of a proximal radial loop, large diameter aortic arch, double subclavian innominate curve, proximal left CCA loop, acute subclavian vertebral angle, and absence of bovine aortic arch anatomy were associated with more difficult trans-radial cerebral angiography. We also introduce a novel grading scale for diagnostic trans-radial angiography.

Current Concepts in the Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Management of Type I Chiari Malformations.

Type 1 Chiari malformations (CMs) are a group of congenital or acquired disorders which include the abnormal presence of the cerebellar tonsils in the upper spinal canal, rather than the posterior fossa. The resulting anatomic abnormality causes crowding of the structures at the craniocervical junction and can impair the normal flow of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) in this region. This impairment in CSF flow dynamics can led to the development of syringomyelia or hydrocephalus. Type 1 CMs have been associated with a wide array of symptoms resulting from either cerebellar and brainstem compression and distortion or disturbances in CSF dynamics, and can affect both children and adults. The clinical diagnosis may be difficult. Age usually matters in the clinical presentation, and in symptomatic patients, surgical intervention is usually required. [Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2017-06.asp].

Current Strategies in the Surgical Management of Ischemic Stroke.

Stroke is a major cause of death and disability in the United States and rapid evaluation and treatment of stroke patients are critical to good outcomes. Effective surgical treatments aim to restore adequate cerebral blood flow, prevent secondary brain injury, or reduce the likelihood of recurrent stroke. Patient evaluation in centers with a comprehensive stroke program and a dedicated neuro- vascular team is recommended. [Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2017-06.asp].

Management of Locally Recurrent Chordoma of the Mobile Spine and Sacrum: A Systematic Review.

STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review. OBJECTIVE: To determine evidence-based guidelines for the management of locally recurrent spinal chordoma. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Chordoma of the spine is a low-grade malignant tumor with a strong propensity for local recurrence. Salvage therapy is challenging due to its relentless nature and refractoriness to adjuvant therapies. There are currently no guidelines regarding the best management of recurrent chordoma. METHODS: We combined the results of a systematic review with expert opinion to address the following research questions: (1) For locally recurrent chordoma of the spine without systemic disease, if surgery is planned, should en bloc resection be attempted if technically feasible with acceptable morbidity? (2) For locally recurrent chordoma without systemic disease, in which wide en bloc excision is not possible, what is the treatment of choice? (2) Should adjuvant or neoadjuvant radiation therapy be used in the treatment of locally recurrent chordoma? RESULTS: A total of nine surgical and seven radiation therapy articles met study criteria. Evidence quality was low or very low. Recurrent disease is associated with predominantly poor outcome, regardless of treatment modality. As for primary chordoma, resection with wide margins appears to confer an advantage with respect to local control, although this effect is attenuated in the setting of relapse. Postoperative radiation therapy likely reduces the rate of further relapse. CONCLUSION: (1) For locally recurrent chordoma of the spine without systemic disease, when surgery is planned, wide en bloc resection should be performed if technically feasible with acceptable morbidity. Strong recommendation, Low Quality of Evidence. (2) For locally recurrent chordoma without systemic disease, in which wide en bloc excision is not possible, partial resection is the treatment of choice. Weak recommendation, Very Low Quality of Evidence. (3) For the treatment of locally recurrent chordoma, high-dose conformal radiation therapy should be administered postoperatively to reduce the risk of further recurrence, and may be considered as a primary therapy. Strong recommendation, Very Low Quality of Evidence. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2.