Venous thromboembolism in the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke acute ischemic stroke population: incidence and patterns of prophylaxis.

BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolus (PE), represents a serious complication in hospitalized ischemic stroke patients. This study examines the incidence of VTE and the patterns of VTE prophylaxis in acute ischemic stroke patients deemed appropriate for VTE prophylaxis (nonambulatory) in the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke (GWTG-S) study. METHODS: We analyzed data from 149,916 patients who were admitted with acute ischemic stroke and enrolled in GWTG-S from 1259 U.S. hospitals. Patient variables and site characteristics were analyzed in relation to reported administration of VTE prophylaxis. RESULTS: The overall rate of VTE prophylaxis in the analysis cohort was 93% (139,476/149,916). The median site prophylaxis rate was 95%, and prophylaxis rates ranged from 17% (1 site) to 100% (101 sites). Factors associated with increased likelihood of VTE prophylaxis in the multivariable model included history of atrial fibrillation/flutter, receipt of intravenous or intra-arterial tissue plasminogen activator, and admission to an academic hospital. Increasing age, black race, and a history of peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, or stroke were associated with lower likelihood of prophylaxis. Patients receiving care in the Midwest were less likely to receive prophylaxis compared to other regions. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a high overall rate of VTE prophylaxis, VTE was found to occur in approximately 3% of GWTG-S patients. Reported rates of VTE prophylaxis differed among hospitals by region and hospital type, and among patients by age, race, and medical comorbidities.

Fulminant Guillain-Barré syndrome after closed head injury: a potentially reversible cause of an ominous examination. Case report.

Fulminant Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rapidly progressive form of polyneuropathy in which patients demonstrate eventual flaccid quadriplegia and an absence of brainstem function. Most patients present after a mild upper respiratory or gastrointestinal illness and have nondiagnostic cerebral imaging studies. The authors present a case of fulminant GBS that developed in a 55-year-old alcoholic man 1 week after admission for a closed head injury. The details of this case and a discussion of GBS will be presented. This case provides evidence for combined central and peripheral nervous system involvement in severe cases of GBS. Recognition of fulminant GBS is important to prevent inappropriate declaration of brain death or withdrawal of support in the face of a potentially reversible process.

Influence of Fever and hospital-acquired infection on the incidence of delayed neurological deficit and poor outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Although fever and infection have been implicated in the causation of delayed neurological deficits (DND) and poor outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), the relationship between these two often related events has not been extensively studied. We reviewed these events through of our retrospective database of patients with SAH. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine independent predictors of DND and poor outcome. A total of 186 patients were analyzed. DND was noted in 76 patients (45%). Fever was recorded in 102 patients (55%); infection was noted in 87 patients (47%). A patient with one infection was more likely to experience DND compared to a patient with no infections (adjusted OR 3.73, 95% CI 1.62, 8.59). For those with more than two infections the likelihood of DND was even greater (adjusted OR 4.24, 95% CI 1.55, 11.56). Patients with 1-2 days of fever were less likely to have a favorable outcome when compared to their counterparts with no fever (adjusted OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.06, 0.62). This trend worsened as the number of days febrile increased. These data suggest that the presence of infection is associated with DND, but that fever may have a stronger independent association with overall outcome.

Temporary test occlusion of distal middle cerebral artery using GDC coil.

The treatment of small distal intracranial aneurysms often requires parent vessel occlusion. However, this may be particularly challenging in patients in which the parent vessel serves eloquent brain. Superselective amytal testing is often conducted in these cases, but may prove unreliable or inconclusive. In order to more specifically assess the functional significance of the parent vessel in this patient with a distal left middle cerebral artery pseudoaneurysm who had failed superselective amytal testing, we used a Guglielmi Detachable coil to perform a temporary test occlusion. Testing was performed with the patient awake and examinable, and after no neurological changes were noted, the vessel was permanently occluded, successfully treating the aneurysm. To our knowledge, this is the first report to describe this unique method for assessing a parent vessel that previously had been thought to supply eloquent brain during amytal testing.