Skin Autofluorescence is an Independent Predictor of Post Stroke Infection in Diabetes.

Post stroke infection occurs in 15-20% of acute stroke patients and is associated with a poor longterm outcome. In a prospective study on 113 acute ischemic stroke patients with diabetes mellitus 15.9% suffered nosocomial infection. We found chronic hyperglycemia measured by skin autofluorescence in arbitrary units to be an independent predictor of a nosocomial infection post stroke (OR = 3.24 [CI 95%: 1.13; 9.26], p = 0.029). Skin autofluorescence represents the glycemic memory beyond HbA1c. Potential mechanisms leading from increased skin autofluorescence to vulnerability for infectious complications include more severe strokes due to preexisting vasculopathy and exacerbated post stroke immunosuppression.

Impact of pre-admission treatment with non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants on stroke severity in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND: Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have gained increasing importance for stroke prevention in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF). With changing prescription practice, among other factors, clinicians can expect to see rising numbers of patients with ischemic stroke and pre-existing NOAC therapy. Few data exist regarding a potential impact of NOAC on stroke severity and outcome. AIMS: To evaluate the impact of pre-admission NOAC therapy on ischemic stroke severity. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of medical data of 376 patients with newly detected AF or known AF with either no pre-admission oral anticoagulation (n = 277) or existing NOAC therapy (n = 99; Apixaban, n = 33, Dabigatran, n = 16; Edoxaban, n = 1; Rivaroxaban, n = 49) consecutively admitted for acute ischemic stroke between January 2015 and December 2016. RESULTS: Patients with pre-admission NOAC had significantly more often experienced a prior stroke than patients not on NOAC therapy (45.5 vs. 18.4%, p < 0.001) and were significantly more frequently non-smokers (1.0 vs. 7.2%, p = 0.021). Significantly more patients without pre-admission NOAC received thrombolysis (33.8 vs. 8.1%, p < 0.001). Pre-admission NOAC therapy was associated with significantly lower NIHSS and mRS scores upon admission (median NIHSS score 6 vs. 10, p = 0.018, median mRS score 4 vs. 5, p = 0.035) and trend-level lower NIHSS scores at discharge (median NIHSS score 3 vs. 5, p = 0.057). There were no differences regarding the frequency of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage between NOAC and non-NOAC patients (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We report a positive impact of pre-admission NOAC on ischemic stroke severity, which is particularly remarkable in light of the increased prevalence of prior stroke and lower rates of thrombolysis in this patient population.

The Burden of Diabetes and the Chance of a Previous Stroke: Thrombolysis for Recurrent Stroke in Diabetics.

BACKGROUND: Intravenous thrombolysis with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator is still not approved by the European Medicines Agency for patients with diabetes mellitus and previous stroke. We assessed functional benefit and potential risk of thrombolysis in patients with diabetes and previous stroke and the influence of age, preexisting diabetic damage, as well as acute and chronic hyperglycemia on outcome, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, and in-hospital mortality. METHODS: We analyzed 527 consecutive patients treated with thrombolysis for acute stroke. Poor outcome was defined as deterioration of prestroke modified Rankin Scale (mRS) to 3 or greater at discharge. Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was defined according to the Safe Implementation of Thrombolysis in Stroke-Monitoring Study criteria. RESULTS: Of the patients, 35.9% were diabetic and 33.2% had previous stroke. Of these patients, 14.4% were diabetics with previous stroke (index group). The rate of patients with poor functional outcome at discharge, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, or mortality did not differ between the index group and patients with either diabetes or previous stroke in 2 × 2 comparisons. Diabetics with first-ever stroke showed significantly more symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (9.7%, P < .001) than the other groups, poorer functional recovery (P = .036), and the highest rate of mortality (12.4%, P < .001). Significant predictors for poor outcome were age (P < .001) and HbA1c (P = .013), for symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage HbA1c (P = .006) and for mortality acute hyperglycemia (P = .001) and age (P = .004). CONCLUSION: Diabetics with previous stroke should not be withheld from intravenous thrombolysis. The risk of complications derives primarily from poor long-term metabolic control rather than from acute hyperglycemia or from previous stroke.

Measuring of Advanced Glycation End Products in Acute Stroke Care: Skin Autofluorescence as a Predictor of Ischemic Stroke Outcome in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus.

Background: Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) are known to show poor recovery after stroke. This specific burden might be due to acute and chronic hyperglycemic effects. Meanwhile, the underlying mechanisms are a cause of discussion, and the best measure to predict the outcome is unclear. Skin autofluorescence (SAF) reflects the in-patient load of so-called advanced glycation end products (AGEs) beyond HbA1c and represents a valid and quickly accessible marker of chronic hyperglycemia. We investigated the predictive potential of SAF in comparison to HbA1c and acute hyperglycemia on the functional outcome at 90 days after ischemic stroke in a cohort of patients with DM. Methods: We prospectively included 113 patients with DM type 2 hospitalized for acute ischemic stroke. SAF was measured on each patient's forearm by a mobile AGE-Reader mu© in arbitrary units. HbA1c and the area under the curve (AUC) of the blood sugar profile after admission were assessed. Functional outcome was assessed via phone interview after 90 days. A poor outcome was defined as a deterioration to a modified Rankin Scale score ≥ 3. A good outcome was defined as a modified Rankin Scale score < 3 or as no deterioration from premorbid level. Results: Patients with a poor outcome presented with higher values of SAF (mean 3.38 (SD 0.55)) than patients with a good outcome (mean 3.13 (SD 0.61), p = 0.023), but did not differ in HbA1c and acute glycemia. In logistic regression analysis, age (p = 0.021, OR 1.24 [1.12−1.37]) and SAF (p = 0.021, OR 2.74 [1.16−6.46]) significantly predicted a poor outcome, whereas HbA1c and acute glycemia did not. Patients with a poor 90-day outcome and higher SAF experienced more infections (4.2% vs. 33.3% (p < 0.01)) and other various in-hospital complications (21.0% vs. 66.7% (p < 0.01)) than patients with a good outcome and lower SAF levels. Conclusions: SAF offers an insight into glycemic memory and appears to be a significant predictor of poor stroke outcomes in patients with DM exceeding HbA1c and acute glycemia. Measuring SAF could be useful to identify specifically vulnerable patients at high risk of complications and poor outcomes.