Risk of Recurrent Stroke and Mortality Among Black and White Patients With Poststroke Depression.

BACKGROUND: Poststroke depression (PSD) is a treatable and common complication of stroke that is underdiagnosed and undertreated in minority populations. We compared outcomes of Black and White patients with PSD in the United States to assess whether race is independently associated with the risk of recurrent stroke and mortality. METHODS: We used deidentified Medicare data from inpatient, outpatient, and subacute nursing facilities for Black and White US patients from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2019, to perform this retrospective cohort analysis. International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes were used to identify patients diagnosed with depression within 6 months of index stroke with no depression diagnosis 1-year preceding index stroke. We performed an unadjusted Kaplan-Meier analysis of the cumulative risk of recurrent stroke up to 3 years after index acute ischemic stroke admission and all-cause mortality following acute ischemic stroke stratified by Black and White race. We performed adjusted and reduced Cox regression to calculate hazard ratios for the main predictor of race (Black versus White), for recurrent stroke and all-cause mortality, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidities, characteristics of the hospitalization, and acute stroke interventions. RESULTS: Of 474 770 Medicare patients admitted with acute index stroke, 443 486 were categorized as either Black or White race and 35 604 fulfilled our criteria for PSD. Within the PSD cohort, 25 451 (71.5%) had no death or recurrent stroke within 6 months and 5592 (15.7%) had no death or readmission of any cause within 6 months. Black patients with PSD had a persistently elevated cumulative risk of recurrent stroke compared with White patients with PSD up to 3 years following acute ischemic stroke (log-rank P=0.0011). In our reduced multivariable model, Black patients had a 19.8% (hazard ratio, 1.198 [95% CI, 1.022-1.405]; P=0.0259) greater risk of recurrent stroke than White patients. The unadjusted cumulative risk of all-cause mortality was higher in this cohort of older White patients with PSD compared with Black patients; however, this difference disappeared with adjustment for age and other cofactors. CONCLUSIONS: Black patients with PSD face a persistently elevated risk of recurrent stroke compared with White patients but a similar risk of all-cause mortality. Our findings support that black race is an independent predictor of recurrent stroke in patients with PSD and highlight the need to address social determinants of health and systemic racism that impact poststroke outcomes among racial minorities.

National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale Reporting in Medicare Claims Data: Reporting in the First 3 Years.

BACKGROUND: Since 2016, hospitals have been able to document International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) codes for the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). As of 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services uses NIHSS as a risk adjustment variable. We assessed associations between patient- and hospital-level variables and contemporary NIHSS reporting. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of 2019 acute ischemic stroke admissions using deidentified, national 100% inpatient Medicare Fee-For-Service data sets. We identified index acute ischemic stroke admissions using the ICD-10-CM code I63.x and abstracted demographic information, medical comorbidities, hospital characteristics, and NIHSS. We linked Medicare and Mount Sinai Health System (New York, NY) registry data from 2016 to 2019. We calculated NIHSS documentation at the patient and hospital levels, predictors of documentation, change over time, and concordance with local data. RESULTS: There were 231 383 index acute ischemic stroke admissions in 2019. NIHSS was documented in 44.4% of admissions and by 66.5% of hospitals. Hospitals that documented ≥1 NIHSS were more commonly teaching hospitals (39.0% versus 5.5%; standardized mean difference score, 0.88), stroke certified (37.2% versus 8.0%; standardized mean difference score, 0.75), higher volume (mean, 80.8 [SD, 92.6] versus 6.33 [SD, 14.1]; standardized mean difference score, 1.12), and had intensive care unit availability (84.9% versus 23.2%; standardized mean difference score, 1.57). Adjusted odds of documentation were lower for patients with inpatient mortality (odds ratio, 0.64 [95% CI, 0.61-0.68]; P<0.0001), in nonmetropolitan areas (odds ratio, 0.49 [95% CI, 0.40-0.61]; P<0.0001), and male sex (odds ratio, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.93-0.97]; P<0.0001). NIHSS was documented for 52.9% of Medicare cases versus 93.1% of registry cases, and 74.7% of Medicare NIHSS scores equaled registry admission NIHSS. CONCLUSIONS: Missing ICD-10-CM NIHSS data remain widespread 3 years after the introduction of the ICD-10-CM NIHSS code, and there are systematic differences in reporting at the patient and hospital levels. These findings support continued assessment of NIHSS reporting and caution in its application to risk adjustment models.

Variation in US acute ischemic stroke treatment by hospital regions: limited endovascular access despite evidence.

BACKGROUND: Although national organizations recognize the importance of regionalized acute ischemic stroke (AIS) care, data informing expansion are sparse. We assessed real-world regional variation in emergent AIS treatment, including growth in revascularization therapies and stroke center certification. We hypothesized that we would observe overall growth in revascularization therapy utilization, but observed differences would vary greatly regionally. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was carried out of de-identified national inpatient Medicare Fee-for-Service datasets from 2016 to 2019. We identified AIS admissions and treatment with thrombolysis and endovascular thrombectomy (ET) with International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification codes. We grouped hospitals in Dartmouth Atlas of Healthcare Hospital Referral Regions (HRR) and calculated hospital, demographic, and acute stroke treatment characteristics for each HRR. We calculated the percent of hospitals with stroke certification and AIS cases treated with thrombolysis or ET per HRR. RESULTS: There were 957 958 AIS admissions. Relative mean (SD) growth in percent of AIS admissions receiving revascularization therapy per HRR from 2016 to 2019 was 13.4 (31.7)% (IQR -6.1-31.7%) for thrombolysis and 28.0 (72.0)% (IQR 0-56.0%) for ET. The proportion of HRRs with decreased or no difference in ET utilization was 38.9% and the proportion of HRRs with decreased or no difference in thrombolysis utilization was 32.7%. Mean (SD) stroke center certification proportion across HRRs was 45.3 (31.5)% and this varied widely (IQR 18.3-73.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Overall growth in AIS treatment has been modest and, within HRRs, growth in AIS treatment and the proportion of centers with stroke certification varies dramatically.

Creating ophthalmology experiences in undergraduate medical education: pilot of a cased-based learning ophthalmology tool.

PURPOSE: To evaluate medical student perceptions of a novel ophthalmology resource delivered through facilitated workshops in the core clerkship curriculum. METHODS: We created www.2020sim.com, a free case-based learning (CBL) ophthalmology tool, adapted from NephSIM (www.nephsim.com). The tool was first piloted with the internal medicine (IM) residents. After confirming a need, we focused on undergraduate medical education (UME) by expanding the 20/20 SIM content and partnering with the neurology (pilot academic year [AY] 2020-2021) and pediatric clerkships (pilot AY 2021-2022) to deliver a facilitated one-hour ophthalmology workshop within each clerkship's didactic curriculum. We evaluated the tool using pre- and post-surveys and knowledge assessments. RESULTS: Of 80 IM residents, 33 (41.3%) completed the needs assessment. Of the 25 residents who attended the workshop, 23 (92.0%) completed the exit survey. IM residents reported discomfort in several ophthalmology domains (9 of 14 rated mean score < 3.0), confirming a need. Most (n = 21/23, 91.3%) rated the tool as good/excellent. Of 145 neurology clerkship students, 125 (86.2%) and at least 88 (60.7%) students completed the pre- and post-test/exit surveys, respectively. On average, participants highly rated the tool, perceiving 20/20 SIM to be relevant to their education [4.1 (0.8)]. Mean pre- to post-test knowledge scores increased from 7.5 to 8.5/10.0 points (p < 0.001). Of the 136 pediatric clerkship students, 67 (49.3%) and 51 (37.5%) completed the pre- and post-surveys, respectively. Respondents perceived increased comfort with ophthalmology topics after the facilitated workshop [3.8 (0.8)]. Mean pre- to post-test knowledge scores trended from 1.8 to 2.0/5.0 points (p = 0.30). Collectively, 20/139 (14.4%) of exit survey respondents visited www.2020sim.com within 1 month after the workshop. CONCLUSION: After identifying areas of greatest need with residents, we partnered with core clerkships to deliver cross-disciplinary ophthalmology content in UME. We found high engagement with 20/20 SIM, with trends toward increased knowledge.

Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Software Significantly Decreases All Workflow Metrics for Large Vessel Occlusion Transfer Patients, within a Large Spoke and Hub System.

INTRODUCTION: Artificial intelligence (AI) software is increasingly applied in stroke diagnostics. Viz LVO (large vessel occlusion) is an AI-based software that is FDA-approved for LVO detection in CT angiography (CTA) scans. We sought to investigate differences in transfer times (from peripheral [spoke] to central [hub] hospitals) for LVO patients between spoke hospitals that utilize Viz LVO and those that do not. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, we used our institutional database to identify all suspected/confirmed LVO-transferred patients from spokes (peripheral hospitals) within and outside of our healthcare system, from January 2020 to December 2021. The "Viz-transfers" group includes all LVO transfers from spokes within our system where Viz LVO is readily available, while the "Non-Viz-transfers" group (control group) is comprised of all LVO transfers from spokes outside our system, without Viz LVO. Primary outcome included all available time metrics from peripheral CTA commencement. RESULTS: In total, 78 patients required a transfer. Despite comparable peripheral hospital door to peripheral hospital CTA times (20.5 [24.3] vs. 32 [45] min, p = 0.28) and transfer (spoke to hub) time (23 [18] vs. 26 [13.5], p = 0.763), all workflow metrics were statistically significantly shorter in the Viz-transfers group. Peripheral CTA to interventional neuroradiology team notification was 12 (16.8) versus 58 (59.5), p < 0.001, and peripheral CTA to peripheral departure was 91.5 (37) versus 122.5 (68.5), p < 0.001. Peripheral arrival to peripheral departure was 116.5 (75.5) versus 169 (126.8), p = 0.002, and peripheral arrival to central arrival was 145 (62.5) versus 207 (97.8), p < 0.001. In addition, peripheral CTA to angiosuite arrival was 121 (41) versus 207 (92.5), p < 0.001, peripheral CTA to arterial puncture was 146 (53) versus 234 (99.8), p < 0.001, and peripheral CTA to recanalization was 198 (25) versus 253.5 (86), p < 0.001. CONCLUSION: Within our spoke and hub system, Viz LVO significantly decreased all workflow metrics for patients who were transferred from spokes with versus without Viz.

Patterns in the number of interventionalists for endovascular treatment of acute ischemic stroke in the US.

BACKGROUND: Endovascular thrombectomy (ET) has become the standard of stroke care for large vessel occlusion acute ischemic stroke (AIS) involving the anterior circulation. With continued eligibility expansion, the demand for neuro-intervention is growing. Current estimates indicate inadequate supply of interventionalists. However, there is limited data describing the number of interventionalists per hospital in the US, and correlations with outcomes. METHODS: We used Medicare 100% sample datasets and included all AIS admissions from 2018 to 2019, using validated International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification codes to identify AIS and comorbidities. We utilized National Provider Identifier codes to identify distinct interventionalists at the hospital. We examined outcomes at the hospital level, including percent of AIS treated with thrombolysis, percent of AIS with inpatient mortality, percent of AIS with discharge home, and percent of AIS with death within 30 days. RESULTS: Among 471,427 AIS admissions, 16,253 received ET over the 2-year period of the study. Only 683 of 4576 AIS-treating institutions provided ET (14.9%). These ET centers most frequently only had one interventionalist performing ET and were clustered in large metropolitan areas with high AIS volumes. As AIS volumes, ET volumes, and mean NIHSS scores increased, so did the number of interventionalists. With each additional interventionalist, there was an increased likelihood of poor outcomes including inpatient mortality, discharge home, and 30-day mortality. CONCLUSIONS: We confirmed a relative lack of neuro-interventionalists among US hospitals, with a concentration of interventionalists in urban, high-volume centers. The greater likelihood of poor outcomes associated with increasing number of interventionalists is likely due to increasing complexity and severity of cases at high-volume ET centers, but further study is needed.

Risk, Determinants, and Pharmacologic Treatment of Depression Following Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Background and Purpose: We assessed risk and determinants of new-onset depression in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients of all ages and no known history of depression. Additionally, we assessed patterns of post-stroke depression (PSD) treatment with pharmacotherapy. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of de-identified Marketscan Commercial Claims and Encounters and Medicare Supplemental and Coordination of Benefits Datasets for adults age ≥18 years admitted with AIS from July 1, 2016-July 1, 2017. We created Kaplan-Meier curves of cumulative risk of PSD up to 1.5 years following index AIS admission. We performed Cox regression to report hazard ratios for determinants of PSD up to 1.5 years following AIS. We summarized proportions treated with pharmacotherapy and identified the most commonly prescribed medications. Results: Of 8089 AIS patients, 1059 were diagnosed with PSD. At 1 year, cumulative risk of PSD was 13.4% (standard error .4) and 15.3% (standard error .5) at 1.5 years. History of anxiety was most strongly associated with PSD and discharge home least. Among those with PSD, 68.8% were prescribed an antidepressant and 8.4% an antipsychotic. The most commonly prescribed antidepressant was sertraline (28.5%). Conclusions: Among AIS patients of all ages, there is a persistently elevated cumulative risk of new diagnosis of PSD in the 1.5 years following AIS. Of the >2/3 treated with an antidepressant, sertraline was most commonly prescribed. Screening and treatment strategies for PSD require further study.

Trends in the Utilization of Teleneurology and Other Healthcare Resources Prior to and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in an Urban, Tertiary Health System.

BACKGROUND: Patient groups traditionally affected by health disparities were less likely to use video teleneurology (TN) care during the initial COVID-19 pandemic surge in the United States. Whether this asymmetry persisted later in the pandemic or was accompanied with a loss of access to care remains unknown. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using patient data from a multicenter healthcare system in New York City. We identified all established pediatric or adult neurology patients with at least two prior outpatient visits between June 16th, 2019 and March 15th, 2020 using our electronic medical record. For this established pre-COVID cohort, we identified telephone, in-person, video TN or emergency department visits and hospital admissions for any cause between March 16th and December 15th, 2020 ("COVID period"). We determined clinical, sociodemographic, income, and visit characteristics. Our primary outcome was video TN utilization, and our main secondary outcome was loss to follow-up during the COVID period. We used multivariable logistic regression to model the relationship between patient-level characteristics and both outcomes. RESULTS: We identified 23,714 unique visits during the COVID period, which corresponded to 14,170 established patients from our institutional Neurology clinics during the pre-COVID period. In our cohort, 4,944 (34.9%) utilized TN and 4,997 (35.3%) were entirely lost to follow-up during the COVID period. In the adjusted regression analysis, Black or African-American race [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.60, 97.5%CI 0.52-0.70], non-English preferred language (aOR 0.49, 97.5%CI 0.39-0.61), Medicaid insurance (aOR 0.50, 97.5%CI 0.44-0.57), and Medicare insurance (aOR 0.73, 97.5%CI 0.65-0.83) had decreased odds of TN utilization. Older age (aOR 0.98, 97.5%CI 0.98-0.99), female sex (aOR 0.90 97.5%CI 0.83-0.99), and Medicaid insurance (aOR 0.78, 0.68-0.90) were associated with decreased odds of loss to follow-up. CONCLUSION: In the first 9 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, we found sociodemographic patterns in TN utilization that were similar to those found very early in the pandemic. However, these sociodemographic characteristics were not associated with loss to follow-up, suggesting that lack of TN utilization may not have coincided with loss of access to care.

High Risk Features Contributing to 30-Day Readmission After Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Single Center Retrospective Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Risk of 30-day stroke readmission has been attributed to medical comorbidities, stroke severity, and hospitalization metrics. The leading etiologies appear to vary across institutions and remain a moving target. We hypothesized that patients with increased medical complexity have higher odds of 30-day readmission and the immediate time after discharge may be most vulnerable. We aimed to characterize patients with 30-day readmission after acute ischemic stroke (IS) and identify predictors of post-IS readmission. METHODS: We performed a retrospective case-control study analyzing post-IS 30-day readmission between January 2016-December 2019 using data from Mount Sinai Hospital's Get With The Guidelines database. We performed chi square analyses and multivariate adjusted logistic regression model including age, sex, coronary artery disease (CAD), renal insufficiency (RI), history of prior stroke or TIA, length of stay (LOS) > 7, and NIHSS ≥ 5. RESULTS: 6.7% (n = 115) of 1,706 IS encounters had 30-day readmission. The 115 cases were compared to 1,591 controls without 30-day readmission. In our adjusted model, CAD (OR = 1.7, p = 0.01), history of prior stroke or TIA (OR = 1.6, p = 0.01), LOS >7 (OR = 1.7, p = 0.02), and NIHSS ≥ 5 (OR = 4.5, p < 0.001) predicted 30-day readmission. 65% (n = 75) of readmitted patients had readmission within 14 days post-discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with post-IS 30-day readmission were more likely to have complex medical comorbidities and history of stroke or TIA compared to controls. Patients with more severe stroke and longer LOS may benefit from individualized transition of care plans and closer follow up during the vulnerable 30-day post-stroke period.

Using Clinical and Echocardiographic Characteristics to Characterize the Risk of Ischemic Stroke in Patients with COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has been associated with an increased incidence of ischemic stroke. The use echocardiography to characterize the risk of ischemic stroke in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has not been explored. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of 368 patients hospitalized between 3/1/2020 and 5/31/2020 who had laboratory-confirmed infection with SARS-CoV-2 and underwent transthoracic echocardiography during hospitalization. Patients were categorized according to the presence of ischemic stroke on cerebrovascular imaging following echocardiography. Ischemic stroke was identified in 49 patients (13.3%). We characterized the risk of ischemic stroke using a novel composite risk score of clinical and echocardiographic variables: age <55, systolic blood pressure >140 mmHg, anticoagulation prior to admission, left atrial dilation and left ventricular thrombus. RESULTS: Patients with ischemic stroke had no difference in biomarkers of inflammation and hypercoagulability compared to those without ischemic stroke. Patients with ischemic stroke had significantly more left atrial dilation and left ventricular thrombus (48.3% vs 27.9%, p = 0.04; 4.2% vs 0.7%, p = 0.03). The unadjusted odds ratio of the composite novel COVID-19 Ischemic Stroke Risk Score for the likelihood of ischemic stroke was 4.1 (95% confidence interval 1.4-16.1). The AUC for the risk score was 0.70. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 Ischemic Stroke Risk Score utilizes clinical and echocardiographic parameters to robustly estimate the risk of ischemic stroke in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and supports the use of echocardiography to characterize the risk of ischemic stroke in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

Modeling the Impact of Prehospital Triage on a True-Life Drip and Ship Mechanical Thrombectomy Urban Patient Cohort.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to model the effect of prehospital triage of emergent large vessel occlusion (ELVO) to endovascular capable center (ECC) on the timing of thrombectomy and intravenous (IV) thrombolysis using real-world data from a multihospital system. METHODS: We selected a cohort of 77 consecutive stroke patients who were brought by emergency medical services (EMS) to a nonendovascular capable center and then transferred to an ECC for mechanical thrombectomy (MT) ("actual" drip and ship [DS] cohort). We created a hypothetical scenario (bypass model [BM]), modeling transfer of the patients directly to an ECC, based on patients' initial EMS pickup address and closest ECC. Using another cohort of 73 consecutive patients, who were brought directly to an ECC by EMS and underwent endovascular intervention, we calculated mean door-to-needle and door-to-arterial puncture (AP) times ("actual" mothership [MS] cohort). Timings in the actual MS cohort and the actual DS cohort were compared to timings from the BM cohort. RESULTS: Median first medical contact (FMC) to IV thrombolysis time was 87.5 min (interquartile range [IQR] = 38) for the DS versus 78.5 min (IQR = 8.96) for the BM cohort, with p = 0.1672. Median FMC to AP was 244 min (IQR = 97) versus 147 min (IQR = 8.96) (p < 0.001), and median FMC to TICI 2B+ time was 299 min (IQR = 108.5) versus 197 min (IQR = 8.96) (p < 0.001) for the DS versus BM cohort, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Modeled EMS prehospital triage of ELVO patients' results in shorter MT times without a change in thrombolysis times. As triage tools increase in sensitivity and specificity, EMS triage protocols stand to improve patient outcomes.

Mobile Interventional Stroke Teams Improve Outcomes in the Early Time Window for Large Vessel Occlusion Stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Endovascular thrombectomy for large vessel occlusion stroke is a time-sensitive intervention. The use of a Mobile Interventional Stroke Team (MIST) traveling to Thrombectomy Capable Stroke Centers to perform endovascular thrombectomy has been shown to be significantly faster with improved discharge outcomes, as compared with the drip-and-ship (DS) model. The effect of the MIST model stratified by time of presentation has yet to be studied. We hypothesize that patients who present in the early window (last known well of ≤6 hours) will have better clinical outcomes in the MIST model. METHODS: The NYC MIST Trial and a prospectively collected stroke database were assessed for patients undergoing endovascular thrombectomy from January 2017 to February 2020. Patients presenting in early and late time windows were analyzed separately. The primary end point was the proportion with a good outcome (modified Rankin Scale score of 0-2) at 90 days. Secondary end points included discharge National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale and modified Rankin Scale. RESULTS: Among 561 cases, 226 patients fit inclusion criteria and were categorized into MIST and DS cohorts. Exclusion criteria included a baseline modified Rankin Scale score of >2, inpatient status, or fluctuating exams. In the early window, 54% (40/74) had a good 90-day outcome in the MIST model, as compared with 28% (24/86) in the DS model (P<0.01). In the late window, outcomes were similar (35% versus 41%; P=0.77). The median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale at discharge was 5.0 and 12.0 in the early window (P<0.01) and 5.0 and 11.0 in the late window (P=0.11) in the MIST and DS models, respectively. The early window discharge modified Rankin Scale was significantly better in the MIST model (P<0.01) and similar in the late window (P=0.41). CONCLUSIONS: The MIST model in the early time window results in better 90-day outcomes compared with the DS model. This may be due to the MIST capturing high-risk fast progressors at an earlier time point. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT03048292.

Healthcare Utilization for Stroke Patients at the End of Life: Nationally Representative Data.

Objectives Stroke and post-stroke complications are associated with high morbidity, mortality, and cost. Our objective was to examine healthcare utilization and hospice enrollment for stroke patients at the end of life. Materials and methods The 2014 Nationwide Readmissions Database is a national database of > 14 million admissions. We used validated ICD-9 codes to identify fatal ischemic stroke, summarized demographics and hospitalization characteristics, and examined healthcare use within 30 days before fatal stroke admission. We used de-identified 2014 Medicare hospice data to identify stroke and non-stroke patients admitted to hospice. Results Among IS admissions in 2014 (n = 472,969), 22652 (4.8%) had in-hospital death. 28.2% with fatal IS had two or more hospitalizations in 2014. Among those with fatal IS admission, 13.0% were admitted with cerebrovascular disease within 30 days of fatal IS admission. Half of stroke patients discharged to hospice from the Medicare dataset were hospitalized with cerebrovascular disease within the thirty days prior to hospice enrollment. Within the study year, 6.9% of hospice enrollees had one or more emergency room visits, 31.7% had one or more inpatient encounters, and 5.2% had one or more nursing facility encounters (compared to 21.4%, 70.6%, and 27.2% respectively in the 30-day period prior to enrollment). Conclusions High rates of readmission prior to fatal stroke may indicate opportunity for improvement in acute stroke management, secondary prevention, and palliative care involvement as encouraged by AHA/ASA guidelines. For patients who are expected to survive 6 months or less, hospice may offer goal-concordant services for patients and caregivers who desire comfort-focused care.

Sex Differences in Post-Stroke Depression in the Elderly.

OBJECTIVE: Post-stroke depression (PSD) occurs in approximately one-third of ischemic stroke patients. However, there is conflicting evidence on sex differences in PSD. We sought to assess sex differences in risk and time course of PSD in US ischemic stroke (IS) patients. We hypothesized that women are at greater risk of PSD than men, and that a greater proportion of women experience PSD in the acute post-stroke phase. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 100% de-identified data for US Medicare beneficiaries admitted for ischemic stroke from July 1, 2016 to December 31, 2017. We calculated Kaplan-Meier unadjusted cumulative risk of depression, stratified by sex, up to 1.5 years following index admission. We performed Cox regression to report the hazard ratio (HR) for diagnosis of depression up to 1.5 years post-stroke in females vs. males, adjusting for patient demographics, comorbidities, length of stay, and acute stroke interventions. RESULTS: In elderly stroke patients, females (n=90,474) were 20% more likely to develop PSD than males (n=84,427) in adjusted models. Cumulative risk of depression was consistently elevated for females throughout 1.5 years of follow-up (0.2055 [95% CI 0.2013-0.2097] vs. 0.1690 [95% CI 0.1639-0.1741] (log-rank p < 0.0001). HR for PSD in females vs. males remained significant in fully adjusted analysis at 1.20 (95% CI 1.17-1.23, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Over 1.5 years of follow-up, female stroke patients had significantly greater hazard of developing PSD, highlighting the need for long-term depression screening in this population and further investigation of underlying reasons for sex differences.

Correlations Between Physician and Hospital Stroke Thrombectomy Volumes and Outcomes: A Nationwide Analysis.

Background and Purpose: Despite the Joint Commission's certification requirement of ≥15 stroke thrombectomy (ST) cases per center and proceduralist annually, the relationship between ST case volumes and outcomes is uncertain. We sought to determine whether a proceduralist or hospital volume threshold exists that is associated with better outcomes among Medicare beneficiaries. Methods: Retrospective cohort study using validated International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification codes to identify admissions with acute ischemic stroke and treatment with ST. We used de-identified, national 100% inpatient Medicare data sets from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2017 for US individuals aged ≥65 years. We calculated total procedures by proceduralist and hospital. We performed adjusted logistic regression of total cases as a predictor of inpatient mortality, good outcome (defined by dichotomized discharge disposition of inpatient rehabilitation or better), and 30-day readmission. We adjusted for sex, age, Charlson Comorbidity Index, availability of neurocritical care, teaching hospital status, socioeconomic status, 2-year stroke volume, and urban versus rural hospital location. We dichotomized case numbers incrementally to determine a volume threshold for better outcomes. Results: Thirteen thousand three hundred thirty-five patients were treated with ST by 2754 proceduralists at 641 hospitals. For every 10 more proceduralist cases, patients had 4% lower adjusted odds of inpatient mortality (adjusted odds ratio, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.95­0.98], P<0.0001) and 3% greater adjusted odds of good outcome (adjusted odds ratio, 1.03 [95% CI, 1.02­1.04], P<0.0001). For every 10 more hospital cases, patients had 2% lower odds of inpatient mortality (adjusted odds ratio, 0.98 [95% CI, 0.98­0.99], P=0.0003) and 2% greater odds of good outcome (adjusted odds ratio, 1.02 [95% CI, 1.01­1.02], P<0.0001). With increasing volumes, there were higher odds of better outcomes. Conclusions: Nationally, higher proceduralist and hospital ST case volumes were associated with reduced inpatient mortality and better outcome. These data support volume requirements in guidelines for ST training and certification.

The emerging association between COVID-19 and acute stroke.

Prior to COVID-19, only two human-tropic coronaviruses resulted in epidemics and cerebrovascular disease was rarely reported. Evidence now suggests that 1-6% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients develop stroke. According to some reports, stroke risk is more than sevenfold greater in patients with COVID-19 than influenza. Concerningly, outcomes of COVID-19-related stroke are often worse than in stroke patients without COVID-19 from the same cohorts. In this review, we highlight the emerging association between COVID-19 and stroke and discuss putative pathogenetic mechanisms. Etiology of stroke in COVID-19 patients is likely multifactorial, related to coagulopathy, inflammation, platelet activation, and alterations to the vascular endothelium. Significant work remains to be done to better understand the pathogenesis of COVID-19-related stroke and for designing optimal primary and secondary prevention strategies.

Decompressive Hemicraniectomy for Acute Ischemic Stroke in the US: Characteristics and Outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: Decompressive hemicraniectomy can be life-saving for malignant middle cerebral artery acute ischemic stroke (AIS). However, utilization and outcomes for hemicraniectomy in the US are not known. We sought to analyze baseline characteristics and outcomes of patients receiving hemicraniectomy for AIS in the US. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We identified adults who received hemicraniectomy for AIS, identified with validated International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9) code in the Nationwide Readmissions Database 2014. We calculated 30-day readmission rates, reasons for readmission, and procedures performed. RESULTS: 2850 of 531,896 AIS patients (0.54%) received hemicraniectomy. Although patients receiving hemicraniectomy were more likely to be younger (57.0, 95% CI 56.0-58.0; vs 70.9, 95% CI 70.6-71.2; p < 0.0001) and male (40% vs 51.2% female; p<0.0001), 46.3% of patients who received hemicraniectomy were age 60 years and older. Patients 60 years or older receiving hemicraniectomy were more likely to die (29.9% vs 21.9%, p = 0.0081). Hemicraniectomy was more frequently performed at large hospitals (75.3% vs 57.7%; p < 0.0001) in urban areas (99.1% vs 90.3%; p < 0.0001) designated as metropolitan teaching hospitals (88.3% vs 63.4%; p < 0.0001). 30-day readmissions were most commonly due to infection (31.5%), non-infectious medical complications (17.7%), and surgical complications (13.8%). These readmissions were critical. CONCLUSIONS: Although hemicraniectomy is used more frequently in the treatment of younger, male, ischemic stroke patients, only half of the patients receiving hemicraniectomy in 2014 were <60 years old. Regardless of age, hemicraniectomy is a geographically segregated procedure, only being performed in large metropolitan teaching hospitals.

Sex Differences in Ischemic Stroke Readmission Rates and Subsequent Outcomes After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Prior studies examining sex-related risk of readmission for ischemic stroke (IS) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) did not adjust for preoperative comorbidities and used small study samples that were single-center or otherwise poorly generalizable. We assessed risk of readmission for IS after CABG for females compared to males in a nationwide sample. METHODS: The 2013 Nationwide Readmissions Database contains data on 49% of all U.S. hospitalizations. We used population weighting to determine national estimates. Using all follow-up data up to 1 year after discharge from CABG hospitalization, we estimated Kaplan-Meier cumulative risk of IS, stratified by sex, using the log-rank test for significance. We created Cox proportional hazard models to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for IS readmission, with sex as the main independent variable. We ran unadjusted models and models adjusted for age, vascular risk factors, estimated severity of illness and risk of mortality, hospital characteristics, and income quartile of patient's zip code. RESULTS: An estimated 53,270 females and 147,396 males survived index CABG admission in 2013. There was a consistently elevated cumulative risk of readmission for IS after CABG for females versus males (log-rank p-value = 0.0014). In the unadjusted Cox model, the HR of IS in females vs. males was 1.35 (95% CI 1.12-1.62, p = 0.0015). The elevated risk for females remained after adjusting for severity of illness (1.30 [1.08-1.56], p = 0.0056) and risk of mortality (1.28 [1.07-1.54], p = 0.0086). This elevated risk persisted after adjusting for multiple vascular risk factors, hospital characteristics, and income quartile of patient's zip code (1.23 [1.02-1.48], p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: We found a 23% increased risk of readmission for IS up to 1 year after CABG for females compared to males in a fully adjusted model utilizing a large, contemporary, nationwide database. Further research would clarify mechanisms of this increased risk among women.