Utility of point of care assessment of platelet reactivity (using the PFA-100®) to aid in diagnosis of stroke.

BACKGROUND: Rapid and accurate diagnosis of patients presenting with symptoms of stroke is needed to facilitate the timely delivery of proven effective treatment for patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). The aim of this study was to determine whether early assessment of platelet reactivity in patients presenting with symptoms of AIS was associated with a diagnosis of AIS, transient ischemic attack (TIA), or stroke mimic. METHODS: This prospective study included patients with symptoms of AIS treated at an inner-city emergency department (ED). Blood samples were obtained and assayed for platelet reactivity (quantified by closure time). Patients were grouped by discharge diagnosis into: AIS, TIA, or stroke mimic. Binary logistic regression model was used to predict the association of closure time with the final diagnosis of 1) either AIS or TIA or, 2) stroke mimic. RESULTS: Of 114 patients enrolled, 32 were diagnosed with AIS, 33 TIA, and 49 were diagnosed as a stroke mimic. There was no significant difference in closure times among patients with a diagnosis of AIS or TIA versus stroke mimic. A history of migraines and history of seizures were independently associated with lower odds of an AIS or TIA diagnosis (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.94 and OR 0.08, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.88, respectively). CONCLUSION: Closure time was not found to be a clinically reliable differentiator of patients with a diagnosis of AIS, TIA, or stroke mimic in the ED.

Comparison of quantitative EEG to current clinical decision rules for head CT use in acute mild traumatic brain injury in the ED.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We compared the performance of a handheld quantitative electroencephalogram (QEEG) acquisition device to New Orleans Criteria (NOC), Canadian CT Head Rule (CCHR), and National Emergency X-Radiography Utilization Study II (NEXUS II) Rule in predicting intracranial lesions on head computed tomography (CT) in acute mild traumatic brain injury in the emergency department (ED). METHODS: Patients between 18 and 80 years of age who presented to the ED with acute blunt head trauma were enrolled in this prospective observational study at 2 urban academic EDs in Detroit, MI. Data were collected for 10 minutes from frontal leads to determine a QEEG discriminant score that could maximally classify intracranial lesions on head CT. RESULTS: One hundred fifty-two patients were enrolled from July 2012 to February 2013. A total 17.1% had acute traumatic intracranial lesions on head CT. Quantitative electroencephalogram discriminant score of greater than or equal to 31 was found to be a good cutoff (area under receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.84; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76-0.93) to classify patients with positive head CT. The sensitivity of QEEG discriminant score was 92.3 (95% CI, 73.4-98.6), whereas the specificity was 57.1 (95% CI, 48.0-65.8). The sensitivity and specificity of the decision rules were as follows: NOC 96.1 (95% CI, 78.4-99.7) and 15.8 (95% CI, 10.1-23.6); CCHR 46.1 (95% CI, 27.1-66.2) and 86.5 (95% CI, 78.9-91.7); NEXUS II 96.1 (95% CI, 78.4-99.7) and 31.7 (95% CI, 23.9-40.7). CONCLUSION: At a sensitivity of greater than 90%, QEEG discriminant score had better specificity than NOC and NEXUS II. Only CCHR had better specificity than QEEG discriminant score but at the cost of low (<50%) sensitivity.

Intravenous enalaprilat for treatment of acute hypertensive heart failure in the emergency department.

BACKGROUND: Afterload reduction with bolus enalaprilat is used by some for management of acute hypertensive heart failure (HF) but existing data on the safety and effectiveness of this practice are limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical effects of bolus enalaprilat when administered to patients with acute hypertensive heart failure. FINDINGS: We performed an IRB-approved retrospective cohort study of patients who presented to the emergency department of a large urban academic hospital. Patients were identified by pharmacy record and included if they received enalaprilat intravenous (IV) bolus in the setting of acute hypertensive HF. A total of 103 patients were included. Patients were hypertensive on presentation (systolic blood pressure [SBP] = 195.2 [SD ± 32.3] mmHg) with significantly elevated mean NT-proBNP levels (3797.8 [SD ± 6523.2] pg/ml). The mean dose of enalaprilat was 1.3 [SD ± 0.7] mg, with most patients (76.7%) receiving a single 1.25 mg bolus. By 3 h post-enalaprilat, SBP had decreased substantially (-30.5 mmHg) with only 2 patients (1.9%) developing hypotension. Renal function was unaffected, with no significant change in serum creatinine by 72 h. In the 30 days post-admission, patients spent an average of 23 [SD ± 7.5] days alive and out of hospital. CONCLUSIONS: In this retrospective cohort of acute hypertensive HF patients, bolus IV enalaprilat resulted in a substantial reduction in systolic BP without adverse effect.