Controversies in acute stroke treatment.

The evidence base supporting the management of patients with acute stroke is evolving at a rapid rate, as new methods that aim to reduce disability and death from stroke are explored. Intravenous tissue plasminogen activator remains the only treatment shown in numerous studies to reduce disability 3 months after stroke with no increase in the risk of death and a relatively minor rate of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage complications. Despite these findings, health care providers have been slow to adopt this evidence-based treatment, which results in many patients experiencing disability caused by stroke. Numerous controversies exist related to the management of patients with acute stroke, including the use of tissue plasminogen activator, positioning and early mobility, blood pressure lowering in acute intracerebral hemorrhage, and even the use of innovative advanced practice nurse-led stroke treatment teams, with varying amounts of evidence available to provide direction. This article explores controversies associated with both approved and evolving treatments for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke and makes recommendations for practice on the basis of the body of existing evidence, with an aim to improve the delivery of acute stroke treatment.

Safety and tolerability of early noninvasive ventilatory correction using bilevel positive airway pressure in acute ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Hypercapnia can induce intracranial blood-flow steal from ischemic brain tissues, and early initiation of noninvasive ventilator correction (NIVC) may improve cerebral hemodynamics in acute ischemic stroke. We sought to determine safety and tolerability of NIVC initiated on hospital admission without polysomnography study. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Consecutive acute ischemic stroke patients were evaluated for the presence of a proximal arterial occlusion, daytime sleepiness, or history of obstructive sleep apnea, and acceptable pulse oximetry readings while awake (96%-100% on 2 to 4 L supplemental oxygen delivered by nasal cannula). NIVC was started on hospital admission as standard of care when considered necessary by treating physicians. NIVC was initiated using bilevel positive airway pressure at 10 cmH(2)O inspiratory positive airway pressure and 5 cmH(2)O expiratory positive airway pressure in combination with 40% fraction of inspired oxygen. All potential adverse events were prospectively documented. RESULTS: Among 356 acute ischemic stroke patients (median NIHSS score, 5; interquartile range, 2-13), 64 cases (18%) received NIVC (median NIHSS score, 12; interquartile range, 6-17). Baseline stroke severity was higher and proximal arterial occlusions were more frequent in NIVC patients compared to the rest (P<0.001). NIVC was not tolerated by 4 patients (7%). Adverse events in NIVC included vomiting (n=1), aspiration pneumonia (n=1), respiratory failure/intubation (n=1), hypotension requiring pressors (n=1), and facial skin breakdown (n=3). The in-hospital mortality rate was 13% in NIVC patients and 8% in the rest (P=0.195). Neurological improvement during hospitalization tended to be greater in the NIVC group (median NIHSS score decrease, 2 points; interquartile range, 0-4) compared to the rest (median NIHSS score decrease, 1; interquartile range, 0-2; P=0.078). CONCLUSIONS: In acute ischemic stroke patients with proximal arterial occlusion and excessive sleepiness or obstructive sleep apnea, NIVC can be initiated early with good tolerability and a relatively small risk of serious complications.

Postgraduate fellowship education and training for nurses: the NET SMART experience.

The Neurovascular Education and Training in Stroke Management and Acute Reperfusion Therapy (NET SMART) program for advanced practice nursing (APN) offers a first-of-its-kind, academic, postgraduate, fellowship program for APNs that is modeled after physician academic fellowship programs but supported by a flexible Internet-based platform. This article details the rationale, methods, and preliminary results of the NET SMART APN experience, which serves as a unique template for the development of academic postgraduate nursing fellowship programs across a variety of specialty practices.

Intravenous thrombolysis followed by intra-arterial thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy for the treatment of pediatric ischemic stroke.

Experience with systemic or selective local administration of thrombolytic agents in pediatric ischemic stroke is limited to sporadic case reports, since patients of age less than 18 years were systematically excluded from randomised controlled trials. We report a case of childhood IS attributable to the terminal internal carotid artery occlusion that was treated successfully with mechanical thrombectomy which followed unsuccessful attempts to recanalize the artery with intravenous and intra-arterial thrombolytics. Combined systemic and intra-arterial thrombolysis followed by mechanical thrombectomy can be feasible and may be considered as means of achieving reperfusion in pediatric ischemic stroke patients with persisting arterial occlusion.