Disparities in the Use of Mechanical Thrombectomy Alone Compared with Adjunctive Intravenous Thrombolysis in Acute Ischemic Stroke in the United States.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: For patients with large-vessel occlusion, mechanical thrombectomy (MT) without IV-tPA is a proved strategy. The relative benefit of direct MT versus MT+IV-tPA for patients with indications for IV-tPA is being actively investigated. We used a national inpatient database to assess trends in use and patient profiles after MT+IV-tPA versus mechanical thrombectomy alone. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The National Inpatient Sample was queried between 2013 and 2018 for patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke. Patients who received mechanical thrombectomy alone were compared with those who underwent MT+IV-tPA. The Cochran-Armitage test was conducted to assess the linear trend of use of mechanical thrombectomy alone among the entire cohort and between admissions involving non-White and White patients. All estimates were nationalized using discharge weights. RESULTS: A total of 89,645 weighted admissions were identified pertaining to mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke from 2013 to 2018. Of these, 59,935 (66.9%) admissions involved mechanical thrombectomy alone. There was an increase in the trend toward the use of mechanical thrombectomy alone (trend: 3.26%; P < .001) per year. Multivariable regression analysis regarding patient profiles indicated that patients who identified as Black (OR = 0.83, P = .001) or Hispanic (OR = 0.79; P < .001) were more likely to undergo mechanical thrombectomy alone compared with those who identified as White. There was no statistically significant difference in the slope between non-White and White populations receiving mechanical thrombectomy alone (trend: +0.93% in favor of non-White; P = .096). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that mechanical thrombectomy alone was used more frequently than MT+IV-tPA among patients with acute ischemic stroke. The disparity between those who identify as White and non-White persisted across the years, though it is closing.

Incidence of diabetes mellitus in a population-based cohort of HIV-infected and non-HIV-infected persons: the impact of clinical and therapeutic factors over time.

AIMS: To examine incidence density rate and correlates of incident diabetes mellitus in a cohort of HIV-infected individuals compared with matched non-HIV-infected persons. METHODS: Data were obtained from the South Carolina Medicaid system and the enhanced HIV/AIDS Reporting System surveillance database for persons ≥ 18 years of age who had been attended to during the period 1994 to 2011. Time-dependent proportional hazards analysis and marginal structural models were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: A total of 13 632 individuals (6816, 1:1 matched HIV-infected and non-HIV-infected persons; median age 39 years; 57% male) contributed 88 359 person-years of follow-up. Incidence rate of diabetes was higher in the non-HIV-infected group compared with the HIV-infected group (13.60 vs. 11.35 per 1000 person-years). Multivariable hazards analysis suggested a significantly lower risk of incident diabetes among HIV-infected persons treated with combination antiretroviral therapy compared with the matched non-HIV-infected persons (adjusted hazards ratio 0.55; 95% CI 0.46-0.65). Among HIV-infected persons, marginal structural modelling suggested a significantly higher risk of diabetes with cumulative exposure to protease inhibitors over the observation period (adjusted relative risk 1.35; 95% CI 1.03-1.78), but this association was not significant for exposure to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Overall, female gender, older age, non-white race/ethnicity, and pre-existing hypertension, dyslipidaemia, obesity and hepatitis C infection were associated with higher risk of diabetes incidence. CONCLUSIONS: HIV infection may not be independently associated with increased risk of diabetes. Among HIV-infected persons, exposure to protease inhibitor-based regimens may increase the risk of diabetes. Healthcare providers should make every effort to use combination antiretroviral therapy regimens with a better cardiometabolic profile.

Beneficial effects of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion in older patients with long-standing type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) on glycemic control, hypoglycemia, and daily insulin requirements in five older patients with long-standing type 1 diabetes previously treated with multiple-dose insulin injections (MDII). METHODS: We undertook a retrospective analysis of five older patients (three women and two men) with type 1 diabetes and a mean age of 66.4 years (range, 57 to 76). The mean duration of disease was 33 years (range, 18 to 49), and all patients had suboptimal glycemic control (glycosylated hemoglobin or HbA(1c) >8.0%), presence of microvascular complications, and unacceptably frequent hypoglycemia during MDII therapy. A diabetes care team monitored their clinical course after their treatment was changed to a CSII regimen. Data pertaining to HbA(1c), severe hypoglycemia, and insulin dose before and after conversion to CSII were compared with use of paired t tests. RESULTS: After initiation of CSII therapy, the mean HbA(1c) value decreased from 9.16% to 7.6% (P<0.0025), the rate of severe hypoglycemia decreased from 3.2 episodes to 0.4 episode per year (P<0.02), and the mean total daily insulin dose was reduced from 44.9 IU to 32.4 IU (P<0.05) during a mean duration of 12.6 months of CSII therapy. CONCLUSION: Insulin pump therapy can prove highly beneficial in older patients with type 1 diabetes by improving glycemic control, reducing hypoglycemic episodes and insulin dosage, and possibly increasing treatment satisfaction. These changes can potentially prevent morbidity and prove to be cost-effective. For implementation of pump conversion to be safe and successful, careful patient selection, proper education, and ongoing support through a comprehensive diabetes education and management program are imperative. Future reports of experience with CSII in elderly patients should help to elucidate its promising advantages in this patient population and provide guidelines for use.

Liver involvement and abnormal iron variables in undiagnosed Addison's disease.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a case of untreated Addison's disease manifesting as severe gastrointestinal symptoms, persistently increased liver enzymes, substantially increased ferritin, and hepatic iron deposition and to document changes in these variables after corticosteroid replacement. METHODS: We thoroughly reviewed the clinical history and results of laboratory tests before and after treatment in a 23-year-old man during a period of 18 months. The relevant medical literature was also reviewed. RESULTS: The study patient had frequent episodes of severe abdominal symptoms, hemodynamic instability, and electrolyte imbalance. He underwent extensive laboratory investigations and was prescribed various treatment regimens. Increased levels of serum transaminases, ferritin, and transferrin saturation led to a liver biopsy, which showed lymphocytic infiltration and increased iron deposition. Eventually, cosyntropin stimulation (250 microg) confirmed the presence of adrenal insufficiency, and these abnormalities resolved after institution of daily administration of glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids. CONCLUSION: Addison's disease can be a cause of unexplained hypertransaminasemia and profoundly increased ferritin levels. These changes are reversible but may lead to diagnostic confusion and delay in commencement of lifesaving corticosteroid therapy.

Free-space wavelength-multiplexed optical scanner.

A wavelength-multiplexed optical scanning scheme is proposed for deflecting a free-space optical beam by selection of the wavelength of the light incident on a wavelength-dispersive optical element. With fast tunable lasers or optical filters, this scanner features microsecond domain scan setting speeds and large- diameter apertures of several centimeters or more for subdegree angular scans. Analysis performed indicates an optimum scan range for a given diffraction order and grating period. Limitations include beam-spreading effects based on the varying scanner aperture sizes and the instantaneous information bandwidth of the data-carrying laser beam.

Results of a placebo-controlled study of the metabolic effects of the addition of metformin to sulfonylurea-treated patients. Evidence for a central role of adipose tissue.

OBJECTIVE: To define the metabolic effects of metformin in the treatment of NIDDM and to evaluate potential mechanisms for its ability to improve glycemic control. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Sulfonylurea-treated patients, with inadequate glycemic control, were treated with metformin in either a placebo-controlled or open fashion. Measurements were made of 1) fasting and postprandial plasma glucose, insulin, and free fatty acid (FFA) concentrations; 2) glucose appearance and disappearance rates measured overnight with 3-[3H]glucose; and 3) plasma FFA concentrations during a 45-min infusion period at relatively low (approximately 60 pmol/l) insulin concentrations. RESULTS: Mean +/- SE hourly plasma glucose, insulin, and FFA concentrations were similar before and after treatment in the placebo group. In contrast, mean hourly plasma glucose concentrations were significantly lower (P < 0.005) after metformin treatment in both the placebo-controlled and open-label groups (-3.9 +/- 1.0 and -4.4 +/- 0.8 mmol/l, respectively). Similarly, day-long hourly FFA levels were lower (P < 0.005) following metformin in the placebo-controlled and open-label groups (-87 +/- 35 and -136 +/- 31 mumol/l, respectively). Plasma insulin concentrations did not change with treatment in any group. Overnight glucose turnover studies indicated that neither the rate of glucose appearance (hepatic glucose production) or glucose disappearance changed significantly with treatment in the placebo or metformin groups. Because plasma glucose concentration was much lower after metformin treatment, overnight glucose metabolic clearance rate was significantly (P < 0.001) lower in this group. Finally, plasma FFA concentrations in response to a low-dosage insulin infusion (5 mU.m-2.min-1) were significantly lower after metformin as compared with the placebo-treated group (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Metformin treatment was associated with significantly lower day-long plasma glucose and FFA concentrations. Although overnight hepatic glucose production was unchanged following treatment with metformin, the overnight glucose metabolic clearance rate significantly increased. Given these findings, it is suggested that at least part of the antihyperglycemic effect of metformin is due to an increase in glucose uptake, secondary to a decrease in release of FFA from adipose tissue, and lower circulating FFA concentrations.

Implementation of associative memory using grating structures.

An associative-memory model and its optical implementation with grating structures are presented. The transmission function of each pixel of the content-addressable memory is calculated by use of scalar diffraction theory. The filter of the calculated transmission function can be fabricated with computer-generated holography and a multiexposure holographic technique. The proposed approach is found useful in terms of storage and the simple thresholding at the number of on-state pixels in the input.

Colored pattern recognition with a neural network model.

An algorithm for multicolored pattern recognition is proposed. A scheme for recognizing patterns encoded in three basic colors, i.e., red, green, and blue, is presented. This scheme can be implemented optically with grating structures. Another advantage of this scheme is its capability of pattern recognition with gray levels. This can be accomplished by coding gray levels with different colors.