High average daily temperature in summer and the incidence of thrombolytic treatment for acute ischemic stroke.

INTRODUCTION: Meteorological factors can increase stroke risk; however, their impact is not precisely understood. Heat waves during summer increase total mortality. Therefore, we hypothesized that the average daily temperature in summer may correlate with the incidence of thrombolytic treatment for acute ischemic stroke in Budapest and Pest County, Hungary. METHODS: We analyzed the relationship between the average daily temperature in summer months and the daily number of thrombolytic treatments (TT) performed with the indication of acute ischemic stroke between 1st June and 31st August each year from 2007 to 2016. The analysis was also performed after the omission of the data of the last day of the months due to possible psychosocial impact reported in our previous study. Spearman's correlation was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: No significant correlation was found between the average summer daily temperature and the number of TT in the entire sample of the 10-year period. When omitting the data of the last day of each month, positive correlations were suspected in 2014 (r=0.225, P=0.034) and 2015 (r=0.276, P=0.009). CONCLUSION: Our findings did not confirm an association between the average daily temperature in summer and the daily number of TT throughout the examined 10-year period. However, importantly, in 2014 and 2015, the years with the highest average daily temperatures in this period, a positive correlation was found. The level of correlation is modest, indicating that risk factors, both meteorological and non-meteorological, other than the average temperature, play equally important roles in determining the incidence of thrombolytic treatment for acute ischemic stroke on the population level.

Christmas, acute ischemic stroke and stroke-related mortality in Hungary.

OBJECTIVES: Risk factors for stroke include psychological effects, such as depression. Festive occasions (such as Christmas in Hungary) may carry a significant emotional impact and may therefore contribute to increased cardiovascular risk. Thrombolytic treatment of acute ischemic stroke has a narrow time window and allows for the precise assessment of stroke incidence. MATERIALS & METHODS: We analyzed anonymized national data of the number of thrombolytic treatments for acute ischemic stroke and the number of stroke-related deaths between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2016 in Hungary within 2-day, 5-day, and 1-month periods preceding and following 24 December each year. Analysis of subgroups based on age (below and over 65 years) and sex was also performed. RESULTS: The number of thrombolytic treatments was higher in all three periods preceding Christmas compared to the corresponding period that follows the feast. This increase was particularly prominent in men below 65 years of age. While overall stroke-associated mortality was increased 1 month after Christmas, the death rate was higher a month before rather than after Christmas in men below 65 years of age and in women both below and over 65 years of age 5 days before Christmas. CONCLUSIONS: These findings may predominantly relate to emotional and psychological factors. In case of women, the anxiety secondary to festive preparations, while in men below 65 years, the increased psychological stress of providing financial security for the celebration may play an important role.

[The first Hungarian patient with Guillain-Barre syndrome after COVID-19]. / Covid-19-asszociált Guillain­Barré-szindróma elsô hazai esete.

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a sporadic, relatively rare disease. In serious cases, it can lead to respiratory failure and death. The correlation between SARS-CoV-2 and the risk of GBS is not yet known. COVID-19-associated prolonged pulmonary complications could be worsened by the potential airway interference caused by GBS. The literature is inconsistent whether SARS-CoV-2 virus has direct or indirect effect on the onset of GBS. The authors describe the medical history of the first published GBS patient in Hungary with a preceding confirmed COVID-19 infection. The trigger role of COVID-19 infection is assumed because of the subsequent development of GBS after COVID-19 infection. So far none of the patients in the literature (including this patient) had positive PCR of SARS-CoV-2 virus from the cerebrospinal fluid.

Utilization of acute vascular imaging and neurointervention for acute ischaemic stroke patients in 20 Hungarian stroke centers.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Acute mortality rate of stroke in Hungary is significantly higher than in Western Europe, which is likely to be partially attributable to suboptimal treatment. METHODS: We examined the use of acute vascular imaging and mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischaemic stroke patients. We collected data on 20 consecutive patients from Hungarian stroke centers before 31st August 2016. RESULTS: Out of the reported 410 patients, 166 (40.4%) underwent CT angiography and 44 (10.7%) had mechanical thrombectomy. CONCLUSION: Only about 1/3 of acute ischaemic stroke patients eligible for thrombectomy actually had it. The underlying reasons include long onset-to-door time, low utilization of acute vessel imaging and a limited neuro-intervention capacity needing improvement.

Anomalous equivalent potential temperature: an atmospheric feature predicting days with higher risk for fatal outcome in acute ischemic stroke-a preliminary study.

Acute stroke is a life-threatening condition. Fatal outcome is related to risk factors, some of these affected by climatic changes. Forecasting potentially harmful atmospheric processes may therefore be of practical importance in the acute care of stroke patients. We analyzed the history of all patients with acute ischemic stroke (N = 184) confirmed by neuroimaging including those who died (N = 35, 15 males) at our hospital department in the winter months of 2009. Patient data were anonymized, and the human meteorologists were only aware of patients' age, gender, and exact time of death. Of the meteorological parameters, equivalent potential temperature (EPT) has been chosen for analysis. EPT is generally used for forecasting thunderstorms, but in the case of synoptic scale airflow (10(6) m), it is suitable for characterizing the air mass inflowing from different regions. The behavior of measured EPT values was compared to the climatic (30 years) averages. We developed meteorological criteria for anomalous periods of EPT and tested if such periods are associated with higher rate of fatal outcome. The duration of anomalous and non-anomalous periods was nearly equal during the studied 3 months. Stroke onset distributed similarly between anomalous and non-anomalous days; however, of the 35 deaths, 27 occurred during anomalous periods: on average, 0.56 deaths occurred on anomalous days and 0.19 on non-anomalous days. Winter periods meeting the criteria of anomalous EPT may have a significant adverse human-meteorological impact on the outcome in acute ischemic stroke.