The value of computed tomography for head trauma in patients presenting with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest before emergency percutaneous coronary intervention.

INTRODUCTION: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) caused by an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is often accompanied by a sudden loss of consciousness that may cause the patient to collapse with resulting head trauma, leading to a suspicion of possible intracranial haemorrhage. To rule out intracranial haemorrhage before emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), emergency computed tomography (CT) of the head might be useful but also causes a delay in percutaneous STEMI treatment. METHODS: The medical records of all adult patients that presented with OHCA to the emergency department (ED) of the University Medical Centre Utrecht (UMCU), the Netherlands between 16 February 2020 and 16 February 2022 were reviewed. RESULTS: A total of 263 patients presented to the ED with an OHCA; 50 presented with a STEMI requiring emergency PCI. Thirty-nine (78%) patients with a STEMI were immediately referred to the catheterisation laboratory and 11 (22%) STEMI patients underwent a CT scan prior to emergency angiography; in no case was PCI deferred on the basis of the CT findings. The dominant indication for CT of the head was collapse, reported by 10 patients and resulting in a visible traumatic head injury in 7 patients. In none of the patients was intracranial haemorrhage detected. However, there was a delay between presentation to the ED and arrival at the catheterisation laboratory in patients who underwent CT of the head (mean 63 ± 25 min) before emergency PCI compared to patients without a CT scan (mean 37 ± 21 min). CONCLUSION: CT of the head did not result in a diagnosis of intracranial haemorrhage or deferral of PCI but did delay PCI treatment for STEMI in patients presenting with OHCA.

Neurological Deficits in Stroke Patients that May Impede the Capacity to Provide Informed Consent for Endovascular Treatment Trials.

BACKGROUND: We assessed the occurrence of neurological deficits that may impede the capacity to provide consent for trial participation in patients with an acute stroke, who are eligible for endovascular treatment (EVT). METHODS: We used data from the Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial of Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke in the Netherlands Registry, a prospective observational cohort study. We included 1526 patients with an anterior large vessel occlusion, undergoing EVT between March 2014 and June 2016. We based our assessment of decision-making capacity for trial participation on neurological symptoms influencing conditions concerning informed consent as stated in the declaration of Helsinki. We formulated a strict and a mild capacity assessment rule, using 2 different cut points in item scores on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). RESULTS: Applying the strict and mild rule, respectively 1469 (96%) and 1220 (80%) patients deemed not capable of decision-making for trial participation on admission, and 1077 (79%) and 825 (60%) patients at 24-48 hours after admission. Highest frequencies of predefined scores suggesting incapacity based on the strict rule were on the NIHSS items "Level of Consciousness Questions" (59%), "Best Gaze" (68%), and "Best Language" (58%). Patients who were considered incapable were older (median 71 versus 66 years, P = .043), had higher NIHSS scores (median 16 versus 8, P < .001), and had more often left hemisphere strokes (55% versus 28%, P < .001) than patients who were presumably capable. CONCLUSIONS: In the majority of patients with an anterior circulation stroke who are eligible for EVT, neurological deficits are present that may impede the capacity to provide informed consent for trial participation.

Symptomatic vertebral artery stent fracture: a case report.

Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) with stent placement is the preferred treatment modality at present for atherosclerotic stenotic lesions of vertebral artery origin. A complication of stent placement in the vertebral artery origin that has received little attention is the risk of stent fracture. A case with four-vessel pathology treated with PTA and stent placement in the left vertebral artery origin is presented. Symptoms recurred 4 months after stent placement, and arteriogram revealed a fractured stent, which was treated surgically with stent removal and vertebral artery-common carotid artery reimplantation.

Changes in cerebral perfusion after revascularization of symptomatic carotid artery stenosis: CT measurement.

PURPOSE: To prospectively evaluate changes in brain perfusion computed tomographic (CT) parameters after revascularization of unilateral symptomatic carotid artery stenosis and to determine whether pretreatment perfusion CT parameters can be used to predict changes in cerebral hemodynamics after treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was medical ethics committee approved, and written informed consent was obtained from all patients. Thirty-six patients (23 men, 13 women; mean age, 67 years) with unilateral symptomatic carotid artery stenosis underwent multi-detector row perfusion CT before and after revascularization. Mean transit time (MTT), cerebral blood volume (CBV), and cerebral blood flow (CBF) were calculated, and relative values based on the comparison between symptomatic and asymptomatic hemispheres-specifically, relative CBV, relative CBF, and difference in MTT-were derived. The absolute and relative perfusion values before treatment were assessed and compared with posttreatment values. These analyses were performed for the group as a whole by using the t test and after subdividing patients into three tertiles according to the difference in MTT by using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. RESULTS: Among the absolute perfusion values, only the MTT in the symptomatic hemisphere improved significantly after treatment (P < .01). All relative values (difference in MTT, relative CBV, and relative CBF) changed significantly after treatment (P < .05). When the patients were subdivided into three tertiles according to difference in MTT, no significant change in any relative perfusion value could be demonstrated in the lowest tertile, only the difference in MTT improved significantly (P = .004) in the middle tertile, and all relative perfusion values changed significantly (P = .002) in the highest tertile. CONCLUSION: Compared with relative CT perfusion values based on interhemispheric comparison, absolute perfusion CT values are less suited for demonstrating changes in cerebral perfusion after revascularization in patients with unilateral symptomatic carotid artery stenosis.

1,026 experimental treatments in acute stroke.

OBJECTIVE: Preclinical evaluation of neuroprotectants fostered high expectations of clinical efficacy. When not matched, the question arises whether experiments are poor indicators of clinical outcome or whether the best drugs were not taken forward to clinical trial. Therefore, we endeavored to contrast experimental efficacy and scope of testing of drugs used clinically and those tested only experimentally. METHODS: We identified neuroprotectants and reports of experimental efficacy via a systematic search. Controlled in vivo and in vitro experiments using functional or histological end points were selected for analysis. Relationships between outcome, drug mechanism, scope of testing, and clinical trial status were assessed statistically. RESULTS: There was no evidence that drugs used clinically (114 drugs) were more effective experimentally than those tested only in animal models (912 drugs), for example, improvement in focal models averaged 31.3 +/- 16.7% versus 24.4 +/- 32.9%, p > 0.05, respectively. Scope of testing using Stroke Therapy Academic Industry Roundtable (STAIR) criteria was highly variable, and no relationship was found between mechanism and efficacy. INTERPRETATION: The results question whether the most efficacious drugs are being selected for stroke clinical trials. This may partially explain the slow progress in developing treatments. Greater rigor in the conduct, reporting, and analysis of animal data will improve the transition of scientific advances from bench to bedside.