Acute Ischemic Stroke in Pregnancy : A Practical Focus on Neuroimaging and Reperfusion Therapy.

INTRODUCTION: Pregnancy increases the risk of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) among young women and is responsible for about 5% of maternal deaths and significant disability. Concerns of potential adverse events of imaging and reperfusion therapies in this group of patients can lead to a substantial delay or omission of treatment that can significantly worsen outcomes. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to discuss main concerns of diagnosis and therapy of pregnant patients with AIS regarding neuroimaging and reperfusion treatment. RESULTS: The cumulative radiation dose of computed tomography (CT)-based entire diagnostic procedure (noncontrast CT, CT-angiography and CT-perfusion) is estimated to be below threshold for serious fetal radiation exposure adverse events. Similarly, magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)-based imaging is thought to be safe as long as gadolinium contrast media are avoided. The added risk of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) and mechanical thrombectomy during pregnancy is thought to be very low. Nevertheless, some additional safety measures should be utilized to reduce the risk of radiation, contrast media and hypotension exposure during diagnostic procedures or reperfusion treatment. CONCLUSION: Fetal safety concerns should not preclude routine diagnostic work-up (except for gadolinium contrast media administration) in childbearing AIS women, including procedures applied in unknown onset and late onset individuals. Due to rather low added risk of serious treatment complications, pregnancy should not be a sole contraindication for neither IVT, nor endovascular treatment.

Risk factors for infarct growth and haemorrhagic or oedematous complications after endovascular treatment - a literature review.

INTRODUCTION: Acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) is caused by significant disturbances in the cerebral bloodflow (CBF) that lead to brain ischaemia and eventually result in irreversible brain tissue damage. The main goal of its treatment is to restore bloodflow to the areas at risk of necrosis. Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) and mechanical thrombectomy (MT) are the mainstay of current therapy, with the latter being widely employed in selected patients with radiologically proven large vessel occlusion (LVO). Despite convincing evidence of its efficacy, up to half of patients undergoing endovascular treatment (EVT) still do not achieve a beneficial functional outcome; this is mainly due to unfavourable brain tissue sequelae. Therefore, factors associated with known adverse brain changes, such as larger infarct size or haemorrhagic and oedematous complications, should be adequately addressed. OBJECTIVE: To review the available literature describing AIS brain tissue outcome assessed by computed tomography (CT) and/ or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients undergoing MT treatment. Additionally, to evaluate the association of post-MT tissue changes with short- and long-term prognosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We searched the PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, and Google Scholar databases according to established criteria. RESULTS: We found a total of 264 articles addressing the most common types of AIS tissue sequelae after EVT (i.e. MT with or without IVT as bridging therapy) by brain CT and MRI. These were: follow-up infarct volume (FIV), cerebral oedema (COD) and haemorrhagic transformation (HT). As the next step, 37 articles evaluating factors associated with defined outcomes were selected. Several non-modifiable factors such as age, comorbidities, pretreatment neurological deficit, and collateral circulation status were found to affect stroke tissue sequelae, to varying degrees. Additionally, some factors including time to treatment initiation, selection of treatment device, and periprocedural systemic blood pressure, the modification of which can potentially reduce the occurrence of an unfavourable tissue outcome, were identified. Some recently revealed biochemical and serological parameters may play a similar role. CONCLUSIONS: The identification of factors that affect post-MT ischaemic area evolution may result in studies assessing the effects of their modification, and potentially improve clinical outcomes. Modifiable parameters, including periprocedural systemic blood pressure and some biochemical factors, may be of particular importance.

Blood Pressure Changes During Mechanical Thrombectomy for Acute Ischemic Stroke Are Associated With Serious Early Treatment Complications: Symptomatic Intracerebral Hemorrhage and Malignant Brain Edema.

Background: Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) and malignant brain edema (MBE) are well-known deleterious endovascular treatment (EVT) complications that some studies found to be associated with postprocedural blood pressure (BP) variability. We aimed to evaluate their association with periprocedural BP changes, including its intraprocedural decrease. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of 132 consecutive patients that underwent EVT between 1 December 2018 and 31 December 2019, for anterior circulation ischemic stroke. Analyzed predictors of sICH and MBE included non-invasively obtained BP before and 5-min after treatment, intraprocedural relative decreases of BP from baseline, and its post-treatment increases. SICH was defined in accordance with the Safe Implementation of Thrombolysis in Stroke-Monitoring Study (SITS-MOST) criteria and MBE as brain edema with midline shift on the follow-up imaging. We used binary logistic regression analysis to investigate the association of BP parameters and the incidence of sICH and MBE. Results: Among the included patients, 11 (8.3%) developed sICH and 31 (23.5%) MBE. The intraprocedural decrease of mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) was independently associated with MBE occurrence (aOR per 10 mmHg drop from baseline 1.27; 95% CI 1.01-1.60; P = 0.040). Over 40% MAP drop was associated with a higher risk of sICH in the entire cohort (aOR 4.24; 95% CI 1.33-13.51; P = 0.015), but not in the subgroup with successful reperfusion (aOR 2.81; 95% CI 0.64-12.23; P = 0.169). Post-treatment systolic blood pressure (SBP) and MAP elevation above their minimal values during MT are significantly associated with the development of sICH (aOR per 10 mmHg SBP increase 1.78; 95% CI 1.15-2.76; P = 0.010 and aOR per 10 mmHg MAP increase 1.78; 95% CI 1.04-3.03; P = 0.035). Conclusions: In the anterior circulation ischemic stroke patients relative MAP decrease during EVT is associated with a higher risk of MBE occurrence, and over 40% MAP drop with a higher incidence of both MBE and sICH. Post-treatment elevation of SBP and MAP increased the risk of sICH.

Fasting Hyperglycemia and Long-term Outcome in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke Treated with Mechanical Thrombectomy.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the prognostic role of fasting glucose after mechanical thrombectomy (MT). AIMS: We investigated whether fasting glucose on the next day after MT was associated with long-term outcome in acute ischemic stroke patients according to diabetes. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 181 consecutive patients with acute anterior circulation ischemic stroke who underwent MT in 2 comprehensive stroke centers in Poland. Glucose levels were evaluated on admission and on the next day after MT. Fasting hyperglycemia (FHG) was defined as the glucose level above 5.5 mmol/L. Unfavorable outcome was defined as modified Rankin scale (mRS) of 3-6 at day 90 from stroke onset. RESULTS: Patients with FHG had higher mRS at 3-month follow-up compared with those without FHG (3.71 ± 2.56 versus 1.87 ± 2.22, P < .001). In the subgroup analyses, FHG was associated with poor neurological outcome in the group without diabetes (3.74 ± 2.52 versus 1.81 ± 3.74, P < .001) but not with diabetes (3.64 ± 2.67 versus 2.30 ± 3.74, P= .11). Patients without diabetes who had FHG were older, had higher glucose on admission, higher prevalence of atrial fibrillation, cardioembolic stroke etiology and bleeding brain complications compared with the group with normal fasting glucose. After adjustment for potential confounders, fasting glucose (odds ratio [OR] 1.46; 95% CI 1.19-1.79, P < .001), age (OR 1.06; 95% CI 1.02-1.10, P = .001), successful reperfusion (OR 0.09; 95% CI 0.04-0.22, P < .001) and baseline NIHSS score (OR 1.18; 95% CI 1.08-1.29, P < .001) were predictors of mRS 3-6 at 3-month follow-up in the whole group. In the subgroup without diabetes, fasting glucose (OR 1.57; 95% CI 1.17-2.11, P = .002), age (OR 1.05; 95% CI 1.01-1.08, P = .008), successful reperfusion (OR 0.11; 95% CI 0.04-0.30, P < .001) and baseline NIHSS score (OR 1.14; 95% CI 1.04-1.26, P = .011) were independent predictors of unfavorable 3-month outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Fasting glucose on the next day after MT in patients with acute ischemic stroke is an independent risk factor for worse 3-month outcome.

Superficial siderosis and intracranial hypotension syndrome following brachial plexus avulsion injury. A case of surgical treatment.

Superficial siderosis (SS) is a slowly progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by persistent or intermittent bleeding into the subarachnoid space. It leads to characteristic clinical and radiographic findings. Dural pathology is believed to be the most common identifiable etiology of SS. It has been suggested that dural tear may be the common pathology of both SS and intracranial hypotension syndrome. We present a patient with SS caused by posttraumatic duropathy that was associated with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) hypotension headache. Patient was treated surgically with stabilization of neurological deficit and orthostatic headache improvement. It supports the speculated link between both entities and may confirm surgery being a reasonable approach in patients with SS.

Acute ischemic stroke in a third trimester of pregnancy - cesarean section followed by mechanical thrombectomy.

Background: Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in pregnancy, despite being a rare event, poses a serious risk for mother's and child's health. There are no strict treatment guidelines in this group of patients, with safety and efficacy of intravenous recombinant tissue-plasminogen-activator (rtPA) and mechanical thrombectomy (MT) being uncertain.Case Presentation: We present a case of gravid 27-year-old patient with left middle cerebral artery (MCA) proximal occlusion causing AIS that was successfully treated with MT. Being in 35th gestational week, it was decided to perform caesarean section before endovascular treatment. The outcome of treatment was good, with no mother's neurological deficit and proper child development in the 5-year observation.Conclusions: MT is probably safe and efficient treatment method in selected pregnant women. No harmful effects on further pregnancy course and parturition have been observed to date.

Mechanical thrombectomy: Determining the proportion of eligible acute ischemic stroke patients in the cohort of single academic stroke center.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is now well-established treatment method for selected patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and efforts are being made to incorporate it into the systems of stroke care. Our objective is to assess the number of AIS individuals eligible for MT in the cohort of single academic stroke center. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed initial non-invasive vascular imaging data of AIS patients presenting within 5h of symptom onset for the presence of large vessel occlusion (LVO) over 2-year period (2015-2016). Among subjects confirmed with LVO: time-to-presentation, premorbid functional and on-admission neurological state, site of occlusion and initial imaging data were further assessed. Two sets of criteria based on recent trials and recommendations were used to determine MT eligibility. The onset-to-evaluation time limit was set to 5h allowing ≤60min procedure initiation delay. RESULTS: 895 patients with the final diagnosis of AIS were admitted to our stroke center as the initial treatment facility. 246 (27.5%) presented within 5h of symptom onset and had non-invasive imaging performed. Among those 102 (41.5%) had causative LVO. The number of ≤5h presenting patients eligible for MT was 51 (20.7%) when applying restrictive or 80 (32.5%) with more permissive criteria. CONCLUSION: Among AIS patients, in whom onset-to-arrival time allowed to initiate the endovascular procedure within 6h of symptom duration, 21% were eligible for MT treatment according to more and 33% to less restrictive criteria. It accounts for about 6% and 9% of all AIS cases, respectively.

Single-center experience of stent retriever thrombectomy in acute ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Recently, positive data from several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of endovascular therapy for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) has emerged. The aim of this retrospective study is to present our clinical experience in cerebral vessel occlusion treatment using retrievable intracranial stents. METHODS: Forty-three consecutive patients with ischemic stroke (median age 75, range 22-87) treated by stent retriever thrombectomy (Solitaire™ FR) between January 2013 and December 2015 were identified. We retrospectively assessed Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction (TICI) scale (2b-3 considered as successful recanalization), clinical outcome using modified Rankin scale (mRs) at 3 months (regarding score 0-2 as good clinical outcome), device-related complications and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH; parenchymal hematoma Type 1 or 2 and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [NIHSS] score increment ≥4 points) rate. RESULTS: The mean NIHSS score on admission was 16.4 (median 16). The mean time from onset to groin puncture (time to treatment) was 290min (median 254min). Successful recanalization was achieved in 30 (69.8%) cases. The mean time from onset to successful reperfusion or procedure termination (time to reperfusion) was 394min (median 375min). Good outcome was observed in 17 (39.5%) patients and mortality was 27.9% (n=12). We found 2 (4,7%) sICHs, one (2,3%) thromboembolic event in different vascular territory and one (2,3%) groin hematoma. CONCLUSION: Stent retriever thrombectomy for the treatment of ischemic stroke is safe, provides high rate of recanalization and good clinical outcomes in the setting of large vessel occlusion.