Angioedema after rt-PA infusion led to airway emergency: a case report of rescue treatment with fresh frozen plasma

Abstract The authors report the case of a 71-year-old woman presented to the Emergency Department with acute ischemic stroke. She was treated with rt-PA and interventional endovascular revascularization and developed rapidly progressing angioedema that led to emergency intubation. The standard treatment was not very effective and the swelling improved after infusion of fresh frozen plasma. Angioedema after rt-PA infusion could be a life-threatening emergency that requires quick airway management by skilled professionals. As this condition is triggered by several factors, such as unregulated histamine and bradykinin production, the traditional treatment recommended by the guidelines may not be sufficient and the use of FFP can be considered as a safe and valuable aid.

Profil épidémiologique, clinique et évolutif des personnes âgées admis en réanimation au CHU de Cocody (Abidjan-Côte-d'Ivoire / Epidemiological, clinical and evolutionary profile of elderly people admitted to the intensive care unit at the CHU of Cocody (Abidjan-Côte d'Ivoire)

Contexte et objectif. La croissance en nombre et en proportion des personnes âgées implique des conséquences sanitaires. La présente étude avait pour objectifs de décrire le profil clinique et évolutif du sujet âgé admis en réanimation et de rechercher des facteurs associés à la mortalité en réanimation polyvalente. Méthodes. C'était une étude documentaire descriptive, de janvier 2019 à décembre 2020, dans le service de réanimation polyvalente du CHU de Cocody. Résultats. La prévalence annuelle des sujets âgés était de 8,6 %. Leur âge moyen était de 70,5 ans ± 9,4 ans (60-92), le sex ratio de 0,8. Les patients en activité professionnelle étaient de 17,5 % et la majorité vivaient en zone urbaine. Les antécédents médicaux étaient surtout l'HTA et le diabète. Les motifs d'admission fréquemment étaient le trouble de la conscience (69,2 %), la détresse respiratoire (12,5 %). Le délai d'admission était de à 7 jours ( , %). Les diagnostics retenus étaient dominés par l'AVC ischémique (24,2 %), l'acidocétose diabétique (17,5 %). Le taux de décès était de 65,8 %. L'âge, le type de pathologie et la durée d'hospitalisation étaient des facteurs pronostiques significativement liés à la mortalité. Conclusion. Le vieillissement de la population a un impact majeur sur le recrutement des patients en réanimation, nécessitant la collaboration multidisciplinaire.

Scientific basis of acupuncture on mesenchymal stem cells for treating ischemic stroke / 中国针灸

The scientific basis of acupuncture on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for treating ischemic stroke (IS) is discussed. MSCs transplantation has great potential for the treatment of tissue damage caused by early stage inflammatory cascade reactions of IS, but its actual transformation is limited by various factors. How to improve the homing efficiency of MSCs is the primary issue to enhance its efficacy. As such, the possible mechanisms of acupuncture and MSCs transplantation in inhibiting inflammatory cascade reactions induced by IS are explored by reviewing literature, and a hypothesis that acupuncture could promote the secretion of stromal cell-derived factor-1α (SDF-1α) from ischemic foci to regulate SDF-1α/CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) axis, thereby improving the homing efficiency of MSCs transplantation, exerting its neuroprotective function, and improving the bed transformation ability, is proposed.

Effects of acupuncture on neurologic function and serum inflammatory factors after thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effects of acupuncture on neurologic function and serum inflammatory factors in patients after thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke (AIS).@*METHODS@#A total of 102 AIS patients with onset to treatment time (OTT) ≤3 h were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 51 cases each group. In the control group, thrombolysis and conventional medical treatment were applied. On the basis of the treatment as the control group, acupuncture at Shuigou (GV 26), Zhongwan (CV 12), Qihai (CV 6), Neiguan (PC 6), etc. was applied in the observation group, 30 min each time, once a day. Both groups were treated for 2 weeks. Before and after treatment, the scores of National Institutes of Health stroke scale (NIHSS), modified Rankin scale (mRS), modified Barthel index (MBI) and serum level of homocysteine (Hcy), hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were compared, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated in the two groups.@*RESULTS@#After treatment, the scores of NIHSS, mRS and serum level of Hcy, hs-CRP were decreased compared with those before treatment (P<0.05), while the MBI scores were increased (P<0.05) in the two groups. The scores of NIHSS, mRS and serum level of Hcy, hs-CRP in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05, P<0.01), the MBI score in the observation group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.01). The total effective rate was 88.2% (45/51) in the observation group, which was superior to 70.6% (36/51) in the control group (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Acupuncture could promote the recovery of neurologic function in patients after thrombolysis in AIS, improve the ability of daily living, which may be related to reducing the level of inflammatory factors, thus inhibiting inflammatory response and improving cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury.

Emerging utility of endovascular thrombectomy in the Philippines: A single-center clinical experience

Background and Objective@#Stroke has remained one of the primary causes of significant morbidity and mortality. Among the therapeutic options for acute stroke management, endovascular thrombectomy is intended to remove the thrombi within the intracerebral vasculature and restore adequate perfusion to the surrounding penumbra. It is recommended up to 24 hours from onset of neurologic symptom. In the Philippines, only a few tertiary healthcare institutions are able to offer and perform endovascular thrombectomies. The aim was to describe the profile and discharge outcomes of endovascular thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke at a tertiary hospital in our country. @*Methods@#We conducted a retrospective records review among 924 patients admitted for acute ischemic stroke from October 2018 to August 2021 who underwent mechanical thrombectomy. Clinical and functional outcomes were measured using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and Modified Rankin Score (mRS). @*Results@#Among 31 patients included in the study, 29 subjects (93.5%) had moderate to severe disability (mRS 3–5), and 25 (80.6%) had moderate stroke (NIHSS 6–21) on admission. The identified site of the cerebrovascular thrombi was within the M1 segment of the middle cerebral artery (41.9%, n=13). The stent retriever approach was performed in 19 participants (61.2%). Upon discharge, only 7 (22.6%) had favorable functional outcomes (MRS 0–2), and 9 (29.0%) resulted in mortality. Successful reperfusion was achieved in 92.3% of the patients.@*Conclusion@#Overall, endovascular thrombectomy is a possible treatment option for large vessel acute ischemic stroke in developing countries.

Regulation of ischemic stroke by circadian rhythm and intervention by traditional Chinese medicine / 中国中药杂志

Circadian rhythm is an internal regulatory mechanism formed in organisms in response to the circadian periodicity in the environment, which modulates the pathophysiological events, occurrence and development of diseases, and the response to treatment in mammals. It significantly influences the susceptibility, injury, and recovery of ischemic stroke, and the response to therapy. Accumulating evidence indicates that circadian rhythms not only regulate the important physiological factors of ischemic stroke events, such as blood pressure and coagulation-fibrinolysis system, but also participate in the immuno-inflammatory reaction mediated by glial cells and peripheral immune cells after ischemic injury and the regulation of neurovascular unit(NVU). This article aims to link molecular, cellular, and physiological pathways in circadian biology to the clinical consequences of ischemic stroke and to illustrate the impact of circadian rhythms on ischemic stroke pathogenesis, the regulation of NVU, and the immuno-inflammatory responses. The regulation of circadian rhythm by traditional Chinese medicine is reviewed, and the research progress of traditional Chinese medicine intervention in circadian rhythm is summarized to provide a reasonable and valuable reference for the follow-up traditional Chinese medicine research and molecular mechanism research of circadian rhythm.

Functionalized exosome-loaded ginsenoside Rg1 for the treatment of ischemic stroke / 生物工程学报

The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effects and potential mechanism of c(RGDyK) peptide modified mesenchymal stem cell exosomes loaded with ginsenoside Rg1 (G-Rg1) on ischemic stroke. Thread-tying method was used to establish SD rats transient middle cerebral occlusion model (tMCAO). The model rats were randomly divided into tMCAO group, Exo group, free G-Rg1 group, Exo-Rg1 group and cRGD-Exo-Rg1 group, and sham group was used as control. The infarct volume was measured by 2, 3, 5-triphenyltetrachloride (TTC) staining, the changes of neuron and endothelium were observed by immunofluorescence, and the expression of related proteins was detected by Western blotting. The results showed that cRGD-Exo-Rg1 up-regulated the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hypoxia-inducible factors (HIF-1α) by activating PI3K/AKT pathway, thus promoting angiogenesis and neurogenesis, effectively reducing the volume of cerebral infarction and improving neural function. In addition, the delivery of cRGD-Exo-Rg1 to ischemic brain tissue up-regulated the expression of occludin and claudin-5, and reduced the injury of blood-brain barrier. Taken together, cRGD-Exo-Rg1 was effective in the treatment of ischemic stroke by promoting angiogenesis and neurogenesis, which provided experimental evidence for the potential clinical benefits of other neuroprotective therapies.

Clinical analysis of 4 acute ischemic stroke children treated with endovascular thrombectomy / 中华儿科杂志

Objective: To assess the feasibility of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in children. Methods: Clinical data and follow-up information of 4 AIS children who received EVT in the Department of Intervention & Hemangioma at the Children's Hospital of the Capital Institute of Pediatrics from December 2020 to June 2021 were collected retrospectively. The vascular recanalization after EVT was assessed by the modified thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (mTICI) score. Efficacy outcomes were assessed with initial and postprocedural Pediatric National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (PedNIHSS) score, and the modified Rankin scale (mRS) score at 3 and 6 months after treatment. Safety assessments included perioperative complications and intracranial hemorrhage post-treatment. Results: A total of 5 EVT treatment were performed on 4 children with AIS, of whom 3 were male. The age of onset was 4.6, 13.8, 7.8, 8.0, 8.9 years, respectively. The time from symptom onset to initiation of EVT was 19.0, 25.0, 22.0, 4.0, 16.5 hours, respectively and all patients achieved successful recanalization of the vessel after EVT (mTICI≥2b). The PedNIHSS score was 39, 14, 25, 39, 24 before treatment and decreased to 8, 1, 12, 39, 5 at discharge. All the procedures were performed with no perioperative complications. Only 1 patient with congenital heart disease had a recurrent AIS with malignant brain oedema and brain hernia. Although the occluded vessels were successfully recanalized,the symptoms were not improved and this patient died after treatment abandonment. The other 3 patients achieved good recovery at 6 months postoperatively. The mRS score of 3 patients was 3, 1, 2 at 3 months after EVT and decreased to 2, 1, 1 at 6 months. Conclusion: EVT treatment may be feasible and safe for pediatric AIS due to large vessel occlusion even when the treatment was initiated 6 hours post stroke, but children with heart disease may have a dismal prognosis.

Research progress on the modulation mechanism of electroacupuncture for learning and memory impairment after ischemic stroke / 中国针灸

Electroacupuncture may play a role in treatment of learning and memory impairment after ischemic stroke by regulating phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) signaling pathway, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase A (PKA)/cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) signaling pathway, nerve growth factor (NGF)/tyrosine kinase-A (TrkA) signaling pathway, Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway, Notch signaling pathway, erythropoietin-producing hepatocyte (Eph)/ephrin signaling pathway. The interactions among these pathways should be further explored in treatment of learning and memory impairment after ischemic stroke.

Preliminary exploration of clinical prediction model of severe swallowing disorder after acute ischemic stroke based on nomogram model / 中华危重病急救医学

OBJECTIVE@#To establish a predictive model for severe swallowing disorder after acute ischemic stroke based on nomogram model, and evaluate its effectiveness.@*METHODS@#A prospective study was conducted. The patients with acute ischemic stroke admitted to Mianyang Central Hospital from October 2018 to October 2021 were enrolled. Patients were divided into severe swallowing disorder group and non-severe swallowing disorder group according to whether severe swallowing disorder occurred within 72 hours after admission. The differences in general information, personal history, past medical history, and clinical characteristics of patients between the two groups were compared. The risk factors of severe swallowing disorder were analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression analysis, and the relevant nomogram model was established. The bootstrap method was used to perform self-sampling internal validation on the model, and consistency index, calibration curve, receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve), and decision curve were used to evaluate the predictive performance of the model.@*RESULTS@#A total of 264 patients with acute ischemic stroke were enrolled, and the incidence of severe swallowing disorder within 72 hours after admission was 19.3% (51/264). Compared with the non-severe swallowing disorder group, the severe swallowing disorder group had a higher proportion of patients aged of ≥ 60 years old, with severe neurological deficits [National Institutes of Health stroke scale (NIHSS) score ≥ 7], severe functional impairments [Barthel index, an activity of daily living functional status assessment index, < 40], brainstem infarction and lesions ≥ 40 mm (78.43% vs. 56.81%, 52.94% vs. 28.64%, 39.22% vs. 12.21%, 31.37% vs. 13.62%, 54.90% vs. 24.41%), and the differences were statistically significant (all P < 0.01). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age ≥ 60 years old [odds ratio (OR) = 3.542, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 1.527-8.215], NIHSS score ≥ 7 (OR = 2.741, 95%CI was 1.337-5.619), Barthel index < 40 (OR = 4.517, 95%CI was 2.013-10.136), brain stem infarction (OR = 2.498, 95%CI was 1.078-5.790) and lesion ≥ 40 mm (OR = 2.283, 95%CI was 1.485-3.508) were independent risk factors for severe swallowing disorder after acute ischemic stroke (all P < 0.05). The results of model validation showed that the consistency index was 0.805, and the trend of the calibration curve was basically consistent with the ideal curve, indicating that the model had good prediction accuracy. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) predicted by nomogram model for severe swallowing disorder after acute ischemic stroke was 0.817 (95%CI was 0.788-0.852), indicating that the model had good discrimination. The decision curve showed that within the range of 5% to 90%, the nomogram model had a higher net benefit value for predicting the risk of severe swallowing disorder after acute ischemic stroke, indicating that the model had good clinical predictive performance.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The independent risk factors of severe swallowing disorder after acute ischemic stroke include age ≥ 60 years old, NIHSS score ≥ 7, Barthel index < 40, brainstem infarction and lesion size ≥ 40 mm. The nomogram model established based on these factors can effectively predict the occurrence of severe swallowing disorder after acute ischemic stroke.

Influencing factors of early activity in patients with acute ischemic stroke based on social ecological model: A qualitative study / 中南大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVES@#Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is one of the main causes of disability in middle-aged and elderly people, and early activity plays an important role in functional recovery. This study aims to understand the factors that affect the implementation of early activity in patients with AIS and to provide reference for promoting early activity implementation and developing intervention strategies for AIS patients.@*METHODS@#Using purposive sampling, 19 AIS patients and their caregivers who visited at Stroke Center in the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University and the Third Hospital of Changsha from June to December 2021, as well as 19 medical staff, hospital administrators, or community workers providing medical health services to stroke patients, were selected as interviewes. A semi-structured interview was conducted based on the social ecological theory model, and the Colaizzi seven-step method was used to analyze the interview data.@*RESULTS@#According to qualitative interview results, the factors affecting early activity in AIS patients were summarized into 4 themes and 12 sub-themes: medical staff factors (insufficient knowledge and skills, insufficient knowledge of early activity, unclear division of responsibilities), patient factors (severity of the disease, lack of knowledge, psychological pressure, fear of falling), social environmental factors (lack of social support, shortage of human resources and rehabilitation equipment, insufficient medical insurance support), and evidence and norms (the evidence for early activity needs improvement, lack of standardized early activity procedures).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Early activity in AIS patients is impacted by factors at multiple levels, including medical staff, patients, social environment, and evidence and norms. Developing comprehensive intervention strategies to address these factors can promote early activity implementation in AIS patients.

Endogenous FGF21 attenuates blood-brain barrier disruption in penumbra after delayed recanalization in MCAO rats through FGFR1/PI3K/Akt pathway / 中南大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVES@#Restoration of blood circulation within "time window" is the principal treating goal for treating acute ischemic stroke. Previous studies revealed that delayed recanalization might cause serious ischemia/reperfusion injury. However, plenty of evidences showed delayed recanalization improved neurological outcomes in acute ischemic stroke. This study aims to explore the role of delayed recanalization on blood-brain barrier (BBB) in the penumbra (surrounding ischemic core) and neurological outcomes after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO).@*METHODS@#Recanalization was performed on the 3rd day after MCAO. BBB disruption was tested by Western blotting, Evans blue dye, and immunofluorescence staining. Infarct volume and neurological outcomes were evaluated on the 7th day after MCAO. The expression of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1), phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K), and serine/threonine kinase (Akt) in the penumbra were observed by immunofluorescence staining and/or Western blotting.@*RESULTS@#The extraversion of Evans blue, IgG, and albumin increased surrounding ischemic core after MCAO, but significantly decreased after recanalization. The expression of Claudin-5, Occludin, and zona occludens 1 (ZO-1) decreased surrounding ischemic core after MCAO, but significantly increased after recanalization. Infarct volume reduced and neurological outcomes improved following recanalization (on the 7th day after MCAO). The expressions of Claudin-5, Occludin, and ZO-1 decreased surrounding ischemic core following MCAO, which were up-regulated corresponding to the increases of FGF21, p-FGFR1, PI3K, and p-Akt after recanalization. Intra-cerebroventricular injection of FGFR1 inhibitor SU5402 down-regulated the expression of PI3K, p-Akt, Occludin, Claudin-5, and ZO-1 in the penumbra, which weakened the beneficial effects of recanalization on neurological outcomes after MCAO.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Delayed recanalization on the 3rd day after MCAO increases endogenous FGF21 in the penumbra and activates FGFR1/PI3K/Akt pathway, which attenuates BBB disruption in the penumbra and improves neurobehavior in MCAO rats.

Analysis of Chinese Medical Syndrome Features of Ischemic Stroke Based on Similarity of Symptoms Subgroup / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To derive the Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome classification and subgroup syndrome characteristics of ischemic stroke patients.@*METHODS@#By extracting the CM clinical electronic medical records (EMRs) of 7,170 hospitalized patients with ischemic stroke from 2016 to 2018 at Weifang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong Province, China, a patient similarity network (PSN) was constructed based on the symptomatic phenotype of the patients. Thereafter the efficient community detection method BGLL was used to identify subgroups of patients. Finally, subgroups with a large number of cases were selected to analyze the specific manifestations of clinical symptoms and CM syndromes in each subgroup.@*RESULTS@#Seven main subgroups of patients with specific symptom characteristics were identified, including M3, M2, M1, M5, M0, M29 and M4. M3 and M0 subgroups had prominent posterior circulatory symptoms, while M3 was associated with autonomic disorders, and M4 manifested as anxiety; M2 and M4 had motor and motor coordination disorders; M1 had sensory disorders; M5 had more obvious lung infections; M29 had a disorder of consciousness. The specificity of CM syndromes of each subgroup was as follows. M3, M2, M1, M0, M29 and M4 all had the same syndrome as wind phlegm pattern; M3 and M0 both showed hyperactivity of Gan (Liver) yang pattern; M2 and M29 had similar syndromes, which corresponded to intertwined phlegm and blood stasis pattern and phlegm-stasis obstructing meridians pattern, respectively. The manifestations of CM syndromes often appeared in a combination of 2 or more syndrome elements. The most common combination of these 7 subgroups was wind-phlegm. The 7 subgroups of CM syndrome elements were specifically manifested as pathogenic wind, pathogenic phlegm, and deficiency pathogens.@*CONCLUSIONS@#There were 7 main symptom similarity-based subgroups in ischemic stroke patients, and their specific characteristics were obvious. The main syndromes were wind phlegm pattern and hyperactivity of Gan yang pattern.

Analysis of the association of CYP450 gene polymorphisms with ischemic stroke / 中华医学遗传学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To assess the association of cytochrome P450 (CYP450) gene polymorphisms with the occurrence of ischemic stroke (IS).@*METHODS@#From January 2020 to August 2022, 390 IS patients treated at the Zhengzhou Seventh People's Hospital were enrolled as the study group, and 410 healthy individuals undergoing physical examination during the same period were enrolled as the control group. Clinical data of all subjects were collected, which included age, sex, body mass index (BMI), smoking history and results of laboratory tests. Chi-square test and independent sample t test were used for comparing the clinical data. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the non-hereditary independent risk factors for IS. Fasting blood samples of the subjects were collected, and the genotypes of rs4244285, rs4986893, rs12248560 of the CYP2C19 gene and rs776746 of the CYP3A5 gene were determined by Sanger sequencing. The frequency of each genotype was calculated by using SNPStats online software. The association between the genotype and IS under the dominant, recessive and additive models was analyzed.@*RESULTS@#The levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL-C), apolipoprotein B (Apo-B) and homocysteine (Hcy) of the case group were significantly higher than those of the control group, whilst the levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL-C) and Apo-A1 (APO-A1) were significantly lower (P < 0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that TC (95%CI = 1.13-1.92, P = 0.02), LD-C (95%CI = 1.03-2.25, P = 0.03), Apo-A1 (95%CI = 1.05-2.08, P = 0.04), Apo-B (95%CI = 1.7-4.22, P < 0.01) and Hcy (95%CI = 1.12-1.83, P = 0.04) were non-genetic independent risk factors for the occurrence of IS. Analysis of the association between the genetic polymorphisms and the risk of IS showed that the AA genotype at rs4244285 of the CYP2C19 gene, the AG genotype and A allele at rs4986893 of the CYP2C19 gene, and the GG genotype and G allele at rs776746 of the CYP3A5 gene were significantly associated with IS. Under the recessive/additive model, dominant model and dominant/additive model, polymorphisms of the rs4244285, rs4986893 and rs776746 loci were also significantly associated with the IS.@*CONCLUSION@#TC, LDL-C, Apo-A1, Apo-B and Hcy can all affect the occurrence of IS, and CYP2C19 and CYP3A5 gene polymorphisms are closely associated with the IS. Above finding has confirmed that the CYP450 gene polymorphisms can increase the risk of IS, which may provide a reference for the clinical diagnosis.

Network Meta-analysis of Qi-benefiting and blood-activating Chinese patent medicines against ischemic stroke / 中国中药杂志

This study aimed to compare the efficacy of Qi-benefiting and blood-activating Chinese patent medicines in the treatment of ischemic stroke with network Meta-analysis. CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, SinoMed, PubMed, EMbase, and Cochrane Library were searched from database inception to October 2022 for randomized controlled trial(RCT) on 11 Qi-benefiting and blood-activating Chinese patent medicines in the treatment of ischemic stroke. The risk of bias plot was made by RevMan 5.3, and network Meta-analysis and efficacy ranking were performed by Stata 17. Ninety-two RCTs were included, involving 10 608 patients. According to the network Meta-analysis, in terms of the clinical total effective rate, surface under the cumulative ranking curve(SUCRA) as followed: Qilong Capsules+conventional western medicine>Zhishe Tongluo Capsules+conventional western medicine>Longshengzhi Capsules+conventional western medicine>Naoxintong Capsules+conventional western medicine>Tongsaimai Tablets+conventional western medicine>Naoan Capsules+conventional western medicine>Naoluotong Capsules+conventional western medicine>Xiaoshuan Changrong Capsules+conventional western medicine>Dengzhan Shengmai Capsules+conventional western medicine=Tongxinluo Capsules+conventional western medicine>Naomaitai Capsules+conventional western medicine. In terms of the improvement in National Institute of Health stroke scale(NIHSS) score, SUCRA as followed: Longshengzhi Capsules+conventional western medicine>Naomaitai Capsules+conventional western medicine>Naoxintong Capsules+conventional western medicine>Dengzhan Shengmai Capsules+conventional western medicine>Xiaoshuan Changrong Capsules+conventional western medicine>Naoluotong Capsules+conventional western medi-cine>Tongxinluo Capsules+conventional western medicine>Naoan Capsules+conventional western medicine>Qilong Capsules+conventional western medicine. In terms of safety, the overall adverse reactions/events of Qi-benefiting and blood-activating Chinese patent medicines + conventional western medicine were less than those of the control group. Since Qilong Capsules+conventional western medicine and Zhishe Tongluo Capsules+conventional western medicine were preferred to improve the clinical total effective rate. In the aspect of improving NIHSS score, Longshengzhi Capsules+conventional western medicine and Naomaitai Capsules+conventional western medicine were first options. Due to the lack of direct comparisons between drugs, the overall quality of RCT was not high, so more studies are needed to verify the strength of the evidence.

Effect of diurnal temperature range on the number of elderly inpatients with ischemic stroke in Hunan Province / 中华预防医学杂志

Objective: To study the effect of diurnal temperature range on the number of elderly inpatients with ischemic stroke in Hunan Province. Method: Demographic and disease data, meteorological data, air quality data, population, economic and health resource data of elderly inpatients with ischemic stroke were collected in 122 districts/counties of Hunan Province from January to December 2019. The relationships between the diurnal temperature range and the number of elderly inpatients with ischemic stroke were analyzed by using the distributed lag non-linear model, including the cumulative lag effect of the diurnal temperature range in different seasons, extremely high diurnal temperature range and extremely low diurnal temperature range. Results: In 2019, 152 875 person-times were admitted to the hospital for ischemic stroke in the elderly in Hunan Province. There was a non-linear relationship between the diurnal temperature range and the number of elderly patients with ischemic stroke, with different lag periods. In spring and winter, with the decrease in diurnal temperature range, the risk of admission of elderly patients with ischemic stroke increased (Ptrend<0.001, Ptrend=0.002);in summer, with the increase in diurnal temperature range, the risk of admission of elderly patients with ischemic stroke increased (Ptrend=0.024);in autumn, the change in the diurnal temperature range would not cause a change in admission risk (Ptrend=0.089). Except that the lag effect of the extremely low diurnal temperature range in autumn was not obvious, the lag effect occurred in other seasons under extremely low and extremely high diurnal temperature ranges. Conclusion: The high diurnal temperature range in summer and the low diurnal temperature range in spring and winter will increase the risk of admission of elderly patients with ischemic stroke, and the risk of admission of elderly patients with ischemic stroke will lag under the extremely low and extremely high diurnal temperature ranges in the above three seasons.

Anticoagulation status and adherence in patients with atrial fibrillation hospitalized for ACS and the impact on 1-year prognosis: a multicenter cohort study / 中华心血管病杂志

Objective: For patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) complicated with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), both anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy should be applied, but the use of anticoagulation therapy is still poor in these patients in China. The purpose of this study was to explore the status and adherence of antithrombotic therapy in AF patients with ACS and the impact on 1 year clinical outcomes. Methods: Patients with AF hospitalized for ACS were retrospectively included from 6 tertiary hospitals in China between July 2015 and December 2020. According to the use of anticoagulant drugs at discharge, patients were divided into two groups: anticoagulant treatment group and non-anticoagulant treatment group. Logistic regression model was used to analyze the main factors influencing the use of anticoagulant drugs in patients with atrial fibrillation complicated with ACS. Major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) were defined as all-cause death, non-fatal myocardial infarction or coronary revascularization, and ischemic stroke and Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) 3 bleeding events were also collected at 1 year after discharge. After propensity score matching, Cox proportional hazards models and Kaplan-Meier analysis were used to evaluate the effect of anticoagulant treatment and non-anticoagulant treatment on 1-year prognosis. The patients were divided into different groups according to whether anticoagulation was performed at discharge and follow-up, and the sensitivity of the results was analyzed. Results: A total of 664 patients were enrolled, and 273 (41.1%) were treated with anticoagulant therapy, of whom 84 (30.8%) received triple antithrombotic therapy, 91 (33.3%) received double antithrombotic therapy (single antiplatelet combined with anticoagulant), and 98 (35.9%) received single anticoagulant therapy. Three hundred and ninety-one (58.9%) patients were treated with antiplatelet therapy, including 253 (64.7%) with dual antiplatelet therapy and 138 (35.3%) with single antiplatelet therapy. After 1∶1 propensity score matching between the anticoagulant group and the non-anticoagulant group, a total of 218 pairs were matched. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that history of diabetes, HAS-BLED score≥3, and percutaneous coronary intervention were predictors of the absence of anticoagulant therapy, while history of ischemic stroke and persistent atrial fibrillation were predictors of anticoagulant therapy. At 1-year follow-up, 218 patients (79.9%) in the anticoagulant group continued to receive anticoagulant therapy, and 333 patients (85.2%) in the antiplatelet group continued to receive antiplatelet therapy. At 1-year follow-up, 36 MACEs events (13.2%) occurred in the anticoagulant group, and 81 MACEs events (20.7%) in the non-anticoagulant group. HR values and confidence intervals were calculated by Cox proportional risk model. Patients in the non-anticoagulant group faced a higher risk of MACEs (HR=1.802, 95%CI 1.112-2.921, P=0.017), and the risk of bleeding events was similar between the two group (HR=0.825,95%CI 0.397-1.715, P=0.607). Conclusions: History of diabetes, HAS-BLED score≥3, and percutaneous coronary intervention are independent factors for the absence of anticoagulant therapy in patients with AF complicated with ACS. The incidence of MACEs, death and myocardial infarction is lower in the anticoagulant group, and the incidence of bleeding events is similar between the two groups. The risk of bleeding and ischemia/thrombosis should be dynamically assessed during follow-up and antithrombotic regiments should be adjusted accordingly.