Angioedema associated with thrombolysis for ischemic stroke: analysis of a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Bradykinin-mediated angioedema (AE) is a complication associated with thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke. Risk factors are unknown and management is discussed. OBJECTIVES: To clarify risk factors associated with bradykinin-mediated AE after thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke. METHODS: In a case-control study conducted at a French reference centre for bradykinin angiœdema, patients with thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke and a diagnosis of bradykinin-mediated angiœdema, were compared to controls treated with thrombolysis treatment without angiœdema. RESULTS: Fifty-three thrombolysis-related AE were matched to 106 control subjects. The sites of attacks following thrombolysis for ischemic stroke mainly included tongue (34/53, 64%) and lips (26/53, 49%). The upper airways were involved in 37 (70%) cases. Three patients required mechanical ventilation. Patients with bradykinin-mediated angiœdema were more frequently women [33 (62%) vs. 44 (42%); P = 0.01], had higher frequency of prior ischemic stroke [12 (23%) vs. 9 (8%); P = 0.01], hypertension [46 (87%) vs. 70 (66%); P = 0.005], were more frequently treated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor [37 (70%) vs. 28 (26%); P < 0.001] and were more frequently hospitalized in intensive care medicine [ICU; 11 (21%) vs. 5 (5%); P = 0.004]. In multivariate analysis, factors associated with thrombolysis-related AE were female sex [odds ratio (OR), 3.04; 95% confident interval (CI), 1.32-7.01; P = 0.009] and treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors [(OR), 6.08; 95% (CI), 2.17-17.07; P < 0.001]. CONCLUSIONS: This case-control study points out angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and female sex as risk factors of bradykinin AE associated with thrombolysis for ischemic stroke.

Results of a 1-year quality-improvement process to reduce door-to-needle time in acute ischemic stroke with MRI screening.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of a 1-year quality-improvement (QI) process to reduce door-to-needle (DTN) time in a secondary general hospital in which multimodal MRI screening is used before tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) administration in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). METHODS: The QI process was initiated in January 2015. Patients who received intravenous (iv) tPA<4.5h after AIS onset between 26 February 2015 to 25 February 2016 (during implementation of the QI process; the "2015 cohort") were identified (n=130), and their demographic and clinical characteristics and timing metrics compared with those of patients treated by iv tPA in 2014 (the "2014 cohort", n=135). RESULTS: Of the 130 patients in the 2015 cohort, 120 (92.3%) of them were screened by MRI. The median DTN time was significantly reduced by 30% (from 84min in 2014 to 59min; P<0.003), while the proportion of treated patients with a DTN time≤60min increased from 21% to 52% (P<0.0001). Demographic and baseline characteristics did not significantly differ between cohorts, and the improvement in DTN time was associated with better outcomes after discharge (patients with a 0-2 score on the modified rankin scale: 59% in the 2015 cohort vs 42.4% in the 2014 cohort; P<0.01). During the 1-year QI process, the median DTN time decreased by 15% (from 65min in the first trimester to 55min in the last trimester; P≤0.04) with a non-significant 1.5-fold increase in the proportion of treated patients with a DTN time≤60min (from 41% to 62%; P=0.09). CONCLUSION: It is feasible to deliver tPA to patients with AIS within 60min in a general hospital, using MRI as the routine screening modality, making this QI process to reduce DTN time widely applicable to other secondary general hospitals.

Prognostic factors related to clinical outcome following thrombectomy in ischemic stroke (RECOST study). 50 patients prospective study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: New thrombectomy devices allow successful and rapid recanalization in acute ischemic stroke. Nevertheless prognostics factors need to be systematically analyzed in the context of these new therapeutic strategies. The aim of this study was to analyze prognostic factors related to clinical outcome following Solitaire FR thrombectomy in ischemic stroke. METHODS: Fifty consecutive ischemic stroke patients with large vessel occlusion were included. Three treatment strategies were applied; rescue therapy, combined therapy, and standalone thrombectomy. DWI ASPECT score<5 was the main exclusion criterion after initial MRI (T2, T2, TOF, FLAIR, DWI). Sexes, age, time to recanalization were prospectively collected. Clinical outcome was assessed post treatment, day one and discharge by means of a NIHSS. Three months mRS evaluation was performed by an independent neurologist. The probability of good outcome at 3 months was assessed by forward stepwise logistic regression using baseline NIHSS score, Glasgow score at entrance, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, blood-brain barrier disruption on post-operative CT, embolic and hemorrhagic post procedural complication, ischemic brain lesion extension on 24h imaging, NIHSS at discharge, ASPECT score, and time to recanalization. All variables significantly associated with the outcome in the univariate analysis were entered in the model. The significance of adding or removing a variable from the logistic model was determined by the maximum likelihood ratio test. Odds-ratio (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated. RESULTS: At 3 months 54% of patients had a mRS 0-2, 70% in MCA, 44% in ICA, and 43% in BA with an overall mortality rate of 12%. Baseline NIHSS score (p=0.001), abnormal Glasgow score at entrance (p=0.053) hyperglycemia (p=0.023), dyslipidemia (p=0.031), blood-brain barrier disruption (p=0.022), embolic and hemorrhagic post procedural complication, ischemic brain lesion extension on 24h imaging (p=0.008), NIHSS at discharge (0.001) were all factors significantly associated with 3 month clinical outcome. ASPECT subgroup (5-7 and 8-10), and time to recanalization were not correlated to 3 months outcome. Baseline NIHSS score (OR, 1.228; 95% CI, 1.075-1.402; p=0.002), hyperglycemia (OR, 10.013; 95% CI, 1.068-93.915; p=0.04), emerged as independent predictors of outcome at 3 months. Overall embolic complication rate was 10%, and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was 2%. CONCLUSION: The MCA location was associated with the best clinical outcome. A DWI ASPECT cutoff score of 5 was reliable and safe. No correlation with time to recanalization was observed in this study. NIHSS and hyperglycemia at admission were the two factors independently associated with a bad outcome at 90 days.

Hemorrhagic risk of recent silent cerebral infarct on prethrombolysis MR imaging in acute stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: EIH is a rare complication after thrombolysis in patients with acute stroke, occurring in brain regions without visible ischemic change on pretreatment imaging. RSCIs can be detected by multimodal MR imaging and might be associated with an increased risk of HT postthrombolysis, related to BBBD. We aimed to assess the incidence of RSCI on pretreatment MR imaging and the subsequent risk of HT within RSCI areas on follow-up CT performed <36 hours after rtPA administration and on additional cerebral imaging before patient discharge. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pretreatment MR imaging was retrospectively analyzed from consecutive patients with stroke who received intravenous or intra-arterial rtPA for 2 years. RSCI was defined on MR imaging as a parenchymal area markedly hyperintense on FLAIR, different from the hyperacute infarct, and mildly-to-markedly hyperintense on DWI or enhanced on postgadolinium T1WI imaging. RESULTS: Eighty-six patients with a median age of 66 years and a median NIHSS score on admission of 15 were studied; 66.3% received rtPA intravenously. The presence of RSCI was identified in 10 patients (11.6%) and was associated with large-vessel-disease etiology (40% versus 5.3%, P < .001) on univariate analysis. No HT was identified within the RSCI areas on any follow-up cerebral imaging. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary results require validation but suggest that small RSCIs are rather frequent and might not pose a higher risk of postthrombolysis HT.

Mechanical thrombectomy in acute ischemic stroke: catch device.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Mechanical thrombectomy presents today a promising alternative to traditional stroke therapies. Our aim with this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the Catch mechanical thrombectomy device in the treatment of acute stroke and report the angiographic results and clinical outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed an analysis of 40 consecutive patients with ischemic stroke treated with the Catch device at our academic center. Forty patients were treated with the device: 25 with anterior circulation stroke and 15 with posterior circulation stroke. Thirty seven (92.5%) patients received an additional treatment to aid revascularization, including 36 patients treated with rtPA (mean dose of 35 mg). RESULTS: The mean age was 63.5 years (range, 31-82 years; 55% men). The median NIHSS score at presentation was 18 (range, 3-38). The mean symptom-to-procedure start time was 440 minutes (range, 150-2637 minutes). Recanalization (TIMI 2-3) was achieved in 26/40 (65%). Symptomatic hemorrhage occurred in 18%. Procedural complications occurred in 6 patients without clinical consequences: 4 clot fragmentations and 2 vasospasms. Data were missing for 4 patients at 90 days. Ninety-day mortality was 41%; good 90-day functional outcome (mRS, ≤ 2) was achieved by 39% (14/36). Good neurologic outcomes at 90 days were more frequent (56.5% versus 7.7%), and mortality rates were lower (30% versus 61.5%) with successful compared with unsuccessful recanalization. CONCLUSIONS: In our retrospective case series, the Catch device appears effective in achieving recanalization and improving 90-day outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

MRI-based score for acute basilar artery thrombosis.

BACKGROUND: Intra-arterial thrombolysis may reduce mortality in acute basilar artery (BA) occlusion. We wanted to identify an easy-to-use pre-treatment MR-based predictor of clinical outcome in patients with acute BA occlusion treated with IAT. METHODS: We analyzed 16 patients with acute BA occlusion prospectively. Vascular risk factors, as well as National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores were recorded on admission, together with a 10-point semiquantitative score reflecting the number of acute ischaemic brain lesions on diffusion-weighted imaging. The recanalization grade was evaluated by angiography. The clinical outcome, using the modified Rankin scale (mRs), was measured 3 months later. RESULTS: Risk factors, NIHSS and GCS scores, time from symptom onset to treatment, recanalization rate, outcome and outcome predictors (such as age, NIHSS and GCS scores) were comparable to other studies. Haemorrhagic transformation of infarction occurred in 2 patients (12.5%). We found that a high lesion score was an additional predictor of poor outcome (p = 0.026). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with acute BA occlusion, treated with intra-arterial recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, a high number of acute ischaemic lesions, based on diffusion-weighted imaging, is a predictor of poor clinical outcome.

[Amyloid cardiomyopathy: A rare cause of cerebral embolism]. / Une cause rare d'embolie cérébrale: la cardiopathie amyloïde.

INTRODUCTION: We report a case of amyloid cardiopathy revealed by a cerebral embolism. CASE REPORT: A 55-year-old patient was admitted with a right hemiplegia and aphasia due to an infarction in the middle cerebral artery territory. Echocardiography was suggestive of an amyloid cardiopathy, and an IgG lambda multiple myeloma with renal insufficiency was discovered. The patient died suddenly 4 months later after chemotherapy was initiated. CONCLUSION: Embolic complications are rare and late in cardiac amyloidosis. The diagnosis may be suspected by echocardiography.

Prolonged moderate hypothermia in massive hemispheric infarction: clinical experience.

Malignant cerebral infarction (MaCI) treated with mechanical ventilation, mannitol, or barbiturates has a mortality of about 80% and survivors show severe disability. When applied for 48 to 72 hours, moderate hypothermia seems to reduce the mortality rate of MaCI. However, even after 72 hours, cerebral edema is still present, and the patient's condition often worsens during rewarming. We here report, as a case series, our experience with the use of prolonged moderate hypothermia to treat patients with MaCI. Twelve MaCI patients 27 to 64 years of age were treated. All presented with middle cerebral artery occlusion and all but one with internal carotid artery occlusion. A cooling blanket was used to lower the patient's core temperature to 32 degrees C to 33 degrees C. Hypothermia was induced within 24 hours of infarction onset and was discontinued when the CT scan showed a subsiding mass effect and was followed by slow rewarming (2-5 days). Patients were mechanically ventilated while sedated with high doses of gamma-hydroxybutyrate, a naturally occurring metabolite of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which acts on the GABAB receptor. Seven patients survived for 6 months, and 6 were able to walk without assistance; the other 5 died due to early cerebral herniation (2) or progression of infarct size (3). The mean duration of hypothermia for the survivors was 19 days (range, 11-22 days). Side effects observed in all patients were systemic hypotension, thrombocytopenia, and hyperfibrinogenemia. Prolonged hypothermia with gamma-hydroxybutyrate can be used to treat MaCI patients, with a fairly good clinical outcome for survivors.

[Pituitary tumour as a presenting symptom of a systemic lymphoma]. / Syndrome tumoral hypophysaire révélateur d'un lymphome systémique.

Pituitary non Hodgkin malignant lymphomas are rare. We report a case of large cell systemic lymphoma with pituitary and meningeal localizations in a 40-year-old patient. The clinical picture was panhypopituitarism with MRI appearance of pituitary adenoma and VII and VIII cranial nerves involvement. Diagnosis was made by identification of lymphomatous cells in CSF. The patient deceased in less than one year despite chemotherapy.

[Hypokalaemic paralysis as a presentation of adrenal tumor]. / Paralysie hypokaliémique révélatrice d'une tumeur surrénalienne.

A 24-year-old patient presented with flaccid quadriplegia due to severe hypokaliemia, initially presumed to have been induced by glycyrrhizin. Persistence of low potassium levels and hypertension led to the diagnosis of primary hyperaldosteronism related to an adrenal cortical tumor. After surgery, the patient recovered from hypertension and hypokaliemia.

[Acute onset syringomyelia: two cases]. / Syringomyélie de révélation aiguë

Two cases of acute presentation of cervical syringomyelia associated with Chiari malformation are reported. In the first case, dysphagia was the main symptom; the second patient had symptoms suggesting acute brain stem ischemia. The mechanism of this acute onset of the illness is discussed.

[Arterial thrombolysis and angioplasty in atheromatous basilar artery occlusion]. / Thrombolyse par voie artérielle et angioplastie dans l'occlusion athéromateuse du tronc basilaire.

Basilar occlusions treated with conventional therapy (anticoagulants or antiplatelets) have a poor outcome (80p. cent mortality). This unfavorable outcome may require a treatment within 6 hours by intra-arterial thrombolysis, sometimes followed by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) in case of atherothrombotic occlusion due to a tight atherosclerotic stenosis. A 48 year-old patient, presented with left hemiparesis, left multimodal hypoesthesia, paralytic dysarthria. CT-scan showed a spontaneous hyperdensity of the basilar artery and arterial occclusion was confirmed by angiography, which showed an atherothrombotic occlusion involving the proximal part of the vessel. Intra-arterial thrombolysis began five hours after the onset with 0,25mg/kg of Rt-Pa (Actilyse((R))), given by bolus followed by 4 others bolus of 10mg. After a total dose of 60mg, arterial recanalization was obtained showing a tight atherosclerotic stenosis involving the proximal part of the basilar artery. PTA was performed 18 hours later with a ballon inflation at 6 atmospheres during 20 seconds. It allowed to decrease the stenosis from 80p. cent to 60p. cent. The patient recovered and MRI at D20 showed a small right lateral infarct involving the pons. Our study confirms the usefulness of intra-arterial thrombolysis in basilar artery occlusion. Consecutive PTA may be proposed in case of associated atherosclerotic stenosis, and the interest of PTA is further discussed.

Dural puncture and corticotherapy as risks factors for cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.

Dural puncture with corticosteroid could be a predisposing factor for cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT). A 35-year-old woman using oral contraception was treated with corticosteroid epidural infiltration for L5 radiculalgia. The following day a postural headache developed and accidental dural puncture was suspected. Four days later, she presented with fever and consciousness impairment requiring mechanical ventilation. Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) confirmed thrombosis of the superior sagittal sinus. Recanalization was observed three weeks later and the patient fully recovered. Blood tests for thrombophilia showed a moderate decrease in the C protein level (chronometric activity 44%, N = 65-130). CVT has been reported after spinal anaesthesia or peridural anaesthesia with accidental puncture. After dural puncture the decrease of cerebrospinal fluid pressure induces a rostrocaudal sagging effect with traumatic damage to the fragile venous endothelial wall, and may trigger a venous vasodilatation with resultant stasis. CVT has also been described in patients after lumbar puncture and oral corticoid treatment for multiple sclerosis and after corticosteroid intrathecal infiltration. Therefore, corticosteroids can be considered as a potential additional procoagulant stimuli.

[Symptomatic aneurysms of the postero-inferior cerebellar artery. A multicenter retrospective study of 29 cases]. / Anévrysmes symptomatiques de l'artère cérébelleuse postéro-inférieure. Etude rétrospective multicentrique de 29 cas.

A multicenter retrospective study of 29 cases of posterior inferior cerebellar artery is reported. Over a period of 21 years, the frequency of posterior inferior cerebellar artery aneurysm among all intracranial aneurysm was estimated to 1.38 p. 100 of cases of aneurysms followed by 3 University Hospitals. Frequency of rupture appeared to be very high (93 p. 100) in this series probably because of the type of selection. Average grade of presentation according to Hunt and Hess classification being < III in 3 fourth of the cases. Neither clinical presentation nor suspicious etiological factors were specific of this localization. Only two cases were of pseudotumoral appearance. Positive diagnosis of subarachnoid hemorrhage was made by CT scan. Angiograms gave diagnosis of localization of the malformation and its type. Intraventricular hemorrhage was found in 62 p. 100 of our cases: all had hemorrhage of the fourth ventricle. Hydrocephaly was more frequent as compared to supratentorial localizations, Vasospasm was less frequent as in supratentorial localizations. Nimodipin seems to be efficient. Therapeutic possibilities are primary dominated by surgery with good results when it is possible. Endovascular treatment is under evaluation.

[Cerebrovascular complications and hereditary protein S deficiency: 2 cases]. / Accidents vasculaires cérébraux et déficit héréditaire en protéine S: 2 cas.

Hereditary protein S deficiency (HSPD) is a predisposing factor to recurrent venous thrombosis but is not currently associated with stroke. We report two cases of HSPD revealed by stroke in young adults. The first one was a 36-year-old patient whith a pure motor hemiplegia, who gradually recovered without sequelae. Total and free protein S was decreased (55 and 10%). One of his brothers died from pulmonary embolism at 20 years and a sister had low protein S level without clinical signs. The second case was a 26-year-old patient who had a right hemiplegia with aphasia due to an infarction in middle cerebral artery area. He partially recovered, but the course of the illness was complicated by deep venous thrombosis of the lower limbs and pulmonary embolism. Total and free serum protein S level was severely decreased (25 and 0%). The patient's mother and one of his sisters also had low protein S but never had clinical complications. In both case, dupplex scanning, transcranial doppler, echocardiography, serum antithrombin III and protein C were normal. Cigarette smoking was the only risk factor for arterial disease. These two cases suggest that HSPD must be investigated in young patients with stroke, even in cases of lacunar stroke.