[Neuropsychiatric disorders and emotional coping strategies in post-stroke patients. A longitudinal study]. / Trastornos neuropsiquiátricos y estrategias de afrontamiento emocionales en pacientes postictus. Estudio longitudinal.

INTRODUCTION: Between one third and one half of the population that has suffered a stroke present with a neuropsychiatric disorder (NPD), which often goes underdiagnosed. AIM: To study the association between the presence of NPDs and coping strategies in stroke patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Prospective, longitudinal and comparative study in a sample of patients with ischaemic stroke with and without the presence of NPDs. Both sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected. Neurological impairment (National Institute of Health Stroke Scale) and coping (Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced) were assessed at three and 12 months. The period studied was from 2013 to 2017. RESULTS: A total of 82 patients were analysed, with a mean age of 67.6 ± 10.4 years, 52.4% of whom were male. Of them, 14 with NPD and 36 without NPD answered the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced coping scale, and the remaining 32 were excluded because of aphasia/dysphasia. At three months, dimensions of active coping, social support, denial and behavioural disengagement were observed in the NPD group, and at 12 months, denial and behavioural disengagement persisted, and planning, self-distraction and self-incrimination dimensions appeared. CONCLUSIONS: Results show the need to motivate patients to seek more effective strategies, to identify problems when they arise, to consider them as surmountable and to inhibit impulsive or inappropriate responses, replacing them with emotional responses and appropriate behaviours.

TITLE: Trastornos neuropsiquiátricos y estrategias de afrontamiento emocionales en pacientes postictus. Estudio longitudinal.Introducción. Entre un tercio y la mitad de la población que ha padecido un ictus presenta un trastorno neuropsiquiátrico (TNp), el cual suele estar infradiagnosticado. Objetivo. Estudiar la asociación entre la presencia de TNp y las estrategias de afrontamiento en pacientes con ictus. Sujetos y métodos. Estudio prospectivo, longitudinal y comparativo en una muestra de pacientes con ictus isquémico con y sin presencia de TNp. Se recogieron variables sociodemográficas y clínicas. Se evaluó la afectación neurológica (National Institute of Health Stroke Scale) y el afrontamiento (Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced) a los tres y a los 12 meses. El período de estudio fue de 2013 a 2017. Resultados. Se analizó a 82 pacientes, con una edad media de 67,6 ± 10,4 años, y eran hombres el 52,4%. De ellos, 14 con TNp y 36 sin TNp respondieron a la escala de afrontamiento Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced, y los 32 restantes fueron excluidos por afasia/disfasia. A los tres meses se observaron dimensiones de afrontamiento activo, apoyo social, negación y desconexión conductual en el grupo TNp, y a los 12 meses persistió la negación y la desconexión conductual, y aparecieron dimensiones de planificación, autodistracción y autoinculpación. Conclusiones. Los resultados muestran la necesidad de motivar a los pacientes a buscar estrategias más eficaces, identificando los problemas cuando aparecen, de considerarlos superables y de inhibir respuestas impulsivas o inadecuadas, sustituyéndolas por respuestas emocionales y conductas adecuadas.

Trastornos neuropsiquiátricos y estrategias de afrontamiento emocionales en pacientes postictus. Estudio longitudinal / Neuropsychiatric disorders and emotional coping strategies in post-stroke patients. A longitudinal study

Introducción: Entre un tercio y la mitad de la población que ha padecido un ictus presenta un trastorno neuropsiquiátrico (TNp), el cual suele estar infradiagnosticado. Objetivo: Estudiar la asociación entre la presencia de TNp y las estrategias de afrontamiento en pacientes con ictus. Sujetos y métodos: Estudio prospectivo, longitudinal y comparativo en una muestra de pacientes con ictus isquémico con y sin presencia de TNp. Se recogieron variables sociodemográficas y clínicas. Se evaluó la afectación neurológica (National Institute of Health Stroke Scale) y el afrontamiento (Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced) a los tres y a los 12 meses. El período de estudio fue de 2013 a 2017. Resultados: Se analizó a 82 pacientes, con una edad media de 67,6 ± 10,4 años, y eran hombres el 52,4%. De ellos, 14 con TNp y 36 sin TNp respondieron a la escala de afrontamiento Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced, y los 32 restantes fueron excluidos por afasia/disfasia. A los tres meses se observaron dimensiones de afrontamiento activo, apoyo social, negación y desconexión conductual en el grupo TNp, y a los 12 meses persistió la negación y la desconexión conductual, y aparecieron dimensiones de planificación, autodistracción y autoinculpación. Conclusiones: Los resultados muestran la necesidad de motivar a los pacientes a buscar estrategias más eficaces, identificando los problemas cuando aparecen, de considerarlos superables y de inhibir respuestas impulsivas o inadecuadas, sustituyéndolas por respuestas emocionales y conductas adecuadas.(AU)

Introduction: Between one third and one half of the population that has suffered a stroke present with a neuropsychiatric disorder (NPD), which often goes underdiagnosed. Aim: To study the association between the presence of NPDs and coping strategies in stroke patients. Subjects and methods. Prospective, longitudinal and comparative study in a sample of patients with ischaemic stroke with and without the presence of NPDs. Both sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected. Neurological impairment (National Institute of Health Stroke Scale) and coping (Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced) were assessed at three and 12 months. The period studied was from 2013 to 2017. Results: A total of 82 patients were analysed, with a mean age of 67.6 ± 10.4 years, 52.4% of whom were male. Of them, 14 with NPD and 36 without NPD answered the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced coping scale, and the remaining 32 were excluded because of aphasia/dysphasia. At three months, dimensions of active coping, social support, denial and behavioural disengagement were observed in the NPD group, and at 12 months, denial and behavioural disengagement persisted, and planning, self-distraction and self-incrimination dimensions appeared. Conclusions: Results show the need to motivate patients to seek more effective strategies, to identify problems when they arise, to consider them as surmountable and to inhibit impulsive or inappropriate responses, replacing them with emotional responses and appropriate behaviours.(AU)

[Risk factors and prognostic variables in transient ischemic attacks and in infarctions with minimal sequelae. A multivariate comparative study]. / Factores de riesgo y variables pronósticas en los ataques isquémicos transitorios y en los infartos con residuo mínimo. Estudio comparativo multivariado.

BACKGROUND: There are no clinical differences accounting for a distinction between transient ischemic attack (TIA) and cerebral infarct with minimal sequelae (IMS). The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether there are diverse risk factors involving a different prognosis in these two groups. METHODS: 144 patients with TIA and 110 with IMS of atherothrombotic origin were prospectively controlled during a mean period of 21 months. Risk factors in both groups were compared with the calculation of the odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). The prognosis of the series was evaluated with survival curves, considering as end points the development of recurrences or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: In the TIA group there was a higher rate of previous TIA (OR = 3.6; 95%Ci = 1.5-8.6) and a smaller prevalence of hypertension (OR = 0.45; 95%CI = 0.27-0.76). There were no significant differences between both groups regarding the probability of survival without TIA or cerebral infarction. Cox's proportional risk analysis selected the stenosis of supraaortic arterial trunks and hyperglycemia as the only factors with independent prognostic significance. CONCLUSIONS: These results do not support the classification of reversible ischemic attacks into TIA and IMS. Both groups have similar risk factors with a similar prognosis.

[Urinary incontinence in patients with acute ictus]. / Incontinencia urinaria en el paciente con ictus agudo.

This project won the "Ausonia" Incontinence First Prize among those projects submitted during 1999. This article analyzes the prevalence of urinary incontinence among patients diagnosed as suffering acute ictus after 3 months, 6 months and 12 months. The authors also investigate those factors associated with acute ictus incontinence, how incontinence influences a patient's evolution, and how incontinence affects the environment where recuperation occurs, at home or in an institution, while the patient is recovering. The results confirm that acute urinary incontinence is a forecasting factor, independent of the poor middle and long range functional prognosis, and that the potential prognosis is superior than the seriousness of the neurological deficit at the moment a patient enters a hospital.

[Emergency assessment in the hospital: the ability of early diagnostic tests to predict short-term prognosis, progression of infarct, hemorrhagic conversion and cerebral edema]. / Evaluación urgente al ingreso hospitalario: capacidad predictiva de las pruebas diagnósticas precoces sobre el pronóstico a corto plazo, la progresión del infarto, la conversión hemorrágica y el edema cerebral.

Acute stroke should be assessed by a specialist on an emergency basis. This article reviews the ability of clinical data and the results of diagnostic tests performed within 6 hours of onset to predict short-term prognosis, neurological deterioration, hemorrhagic transformation of the infarct and cerebral edema. Scores on neurological deficit scales, early signs of infarct on cranial computerized tomography, biochemical parameters such as glycemia, and the characteristics of vascular occlusion on Doppler ultrasonography or angiography are good predictors of acute phase complications and can be used to help identify patients that might benefit from new stroke therapies.

[Epidemiology of dementias: methodologic considerations]. / Epidemiología de las demencias: consideraciones metodológicas.

In this article epidemiological studies of dementia states are review to document the current approaches. Objectives, instruments, risk factors and sampling definition are valuable aspects which have been reviewed. A two-phase study and a standardised interview and examination schedule CAMDEX (The Cambridge Examination for Mental Disorders of the Elderly) are suggested by the authors as promising strategies for the future research.

Computed tomography of a post traumatic spinal arachnoid cyst.

A case of post-traumatic arachnoid spinal cyst with haemorrhagic contents is presented. CT findings were indistinguishable from those of epidural or subdural haematomas. The use of CT myelography permits a more accurate diagnosis by localizing the lesion into one of the three spaces. In our case, bleeding into a preexisting arachnoid cyst was thought to occur, but we cannot exclude a newly formed cyst of traumatic origin.

[The normal values of the haemodynamic reserve (HR) evaluated by the CO2 test]. / Valores de normalidad de la reserva hemodinámica cerebral (RHC) evaluada mediante el test de CO2.

BACKGROUND: The cerebral haemodynamic reserve (HR) is a recognised predictive factor of brain ischaemia in subjects with carotid stenosis. Our objective is to establish normal parameters which may be used for comparison with deficit states. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: The haemodynamic reserve was calculated in healthy subjects who had no evidence of previous carotid, haematological or cardiovascular pathologies. Subjects were asked to inhale CO2. The HR was then calculated as a percentage of the increase in the mean velocity in the Silvian artery for each millimetre of mercury increase of the end-tidal CO2. The median and percentiles 5 and 95 were calculated for each hemisphere, sex and age group. RESULTS: 100 subjects were studied (45 men and 55 women, mean age 51.6 years, range 18-79). Normal HR value was defined as percentile 5, with a value of 2% for men, and 2.5% for women. The only adverse reaction was dyspnea in 2 subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Values for the haemodynamic reserve of healthy subjects, which may serve as a reference for other ultrasonography laboratories, are established from an extensive control group.

Valores de normalidad de la reserva hemodinámica cerebral (RHC) evaluada mediante el test de CO2 / The normal values of the haemodynamic reserve (HR) evaluated by the CO2 test

FUNDAMENTO: El estado de la reserva hemodinámica cerebral (RHC) en los sujetos con estenosis carotídea es un factor predictivo reconocido del riesgo de presentar isquemia cerebral ipsilateral. Nuestro objetivo es establecer valores de referencia procedentes de la población sana que puedan ser aplicados en el estudio de estos pacientes. PACIENTES Y MÉTODO: Se calculó la RHC en sujetos sanos y sin evidencia de patología carotídea, hematológica o cardiovascular previa. El método elegido fue la inhalación de CO2, expresando la RHC como el porcentaje de incremento de la velocidad media en la arteria silviana por cada milímetro de mercurio de aumento en la concentración espiratoria final de CO2 al inducir la hipercapnia. Se calcularon las medianas y percentiles 5 y 95 por hemisferio, sexo y grupo de edad. RESULTADOS: Se estudiaron 100 sujetos (45 varones y 55 mujeres, media de edad 51,6 años, rango 18-79 años). Se consideró como límite de normalidad de la RHC el percentil 5, que fue de un 2 per cent para los varones y de un 2,5 per cent para las mujeres. El único acontecimiento adverso fue sensación disneica en 2 individuos. CONCLUSIONES: Los valores presentados son los primeros parámetros de normalidad procedentes de una serie extensa de controles publicados en la bibliografía y pueden ser de referencia para otros laboratorios de ultrasonografía. (AU)