We have investigated the reliability of transcranial doppler compared with cerebral angiography in acute ischemic stroke in the middle cerebral artery territories. We studied 48 patients, 28 men and 21 women, mean age 68.1 (range 54–75), observed within 5 h of the onset of ischemic stroke in the middle cerebral artery territory. Ultrasound evaluation (duplex scanner and transcranial doppler) and cerebral angiography were carried out in close sequence immediately after CT scan. CT was repeated by Day 7 to estimate the infarct size: 27/48 patients had intracranial arterial obstructions. An acoustic temporal "window" was not found in 6.25%. Transcranial doppler showed a sensitivity of 80.0% and a specificity of 90.0% compared with cerebral Angiography for patients with patent acoustic temporal "windows". Accuracy was 79.2%, when patients with no "windows" were included. With respect to intracranial internal carotid artery and middle cerebral artery mainstem, transcranial doppler showed a sensitivity of 95.0%, and a specificity of 92.0%. Including patients with no windows, accuracy was 87.5%. Conclusions: Our data suggest that Transcranial Doppler can be reliably used to demonstrate intracranial internal carotid artery or middle cerebral artery mainstem obstructions in the acute phase of a brain infarction.
We sought to detect prognostic factors related to functional outcome during the first 6 hours after a first-ever stroke in the carotid artery territory.All patients with these characteristics seen during a 3-year period were included. Outcome was evaluated according to a modified Rankin scale. The following variables were examined at univariate analysis: sex, age, severity of deficit at entry and at day 7, level of consciousness at entry, time after symptom onset, history of smoking, history of hypertension, diabetes, myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, rheumatic heart disease, dilated cardiomyopathy, all potential cardioembolic sources, presence of a consistent lesion on computed tomography at entry and at days 5-9, and the size of such lesion.All entry criteria were met by 172 patients. Age > or = 70 years, a Canadian Neurological Scale score < 6.5 at entry and at day 7, atrial fibrillation, presence of a potential cardioembolic source, and a "large" lesion (involving more than half the cerebral lobe) on computed tomography at days 5-9 were associated with a significantly worse outcome both at 30 days and at 6 months. After multivariate analysis, a Canadian Scale score < 6.5 at entry (p < 0.0001) and atrial fibrillation (p = 0.005) were associated with a significant handicap or death at 30 days, whereas only a Canadian Scale score < 6.5 (p < 0.0001) was associated with a worse prognosis at 6 months. An association of age > or = 70 years with a worse outcome at 6 months was of borderline significance (p = 0.054).Some prognostic indicators are available during the first few hours after onset of a carotid ischemic stroke and may be useful in the stratification of patients in clinical trials. Severity of deficit is the most important indicator, whereas the presence of atrial fibrillation worsens the prognostic outlook with respect to early handicap but not mortality.
To evaluate the safety and possible efficacy of heparin sodium anticoagulation within 5 hours of the onset of first-ever nonlacunar ischemic strokes in the internal carotid artery territories.Pilot study, prospective and open.Inpatient stroke unit.Of 360 stroke patients observed during 13 months, 45 (12.5%) were included in the study.Heparin sodium was administered intravenously, starting with a bolus of 10,000 U, followed by continuous infusion over 4 days at a rate adjusted to maintain an activated partial thromboplastin time ratio between 2 and 2.5. The mean interval from stroke to treatment was 197 minutes.Two patients had cerebral hemorrhage, one of which was fatal. None had extracranial major bleeding, while six had minor bleeding. The conditions of 23 patients improved, 16 patients were stable, and six patients worsened by day 1, while 29 patients improved, eight patients were stable, and eight patients worsened by day 7. Six patients died by the first month and five more by the sixth month. Twenty-one patients were self-sufficient, both at 1 and 6 months. Hemorrhagic complications were unrelated to any investigated factor. Multivariate analysis indicated that short-term outcome was predicted only by infarct size (P < .0001) and long-term outcome by infarct size (P = .002) and large vessel status (P = .0235).Our study suggests that immediate heparin treatment for ischemic carotid stroke is feasible and generally safe and that patients whose conditions improve are those with smaller infarct size and no evidence of large vessel obstruction.
Twelve parkinsonian patients (6 men and 6 women), mean age 60.5 years, range 47-72, were examined with autonomic test when de novo and after 2 years of continuous levodopa treatment. They were all free from any disease interfering with autonomic examination. When de novo they had a significant decrease of heart rate response to deep breathing and to laying to standing tests if compared with an age- and sex-matched control group (15.6 +/- 8.8 vs. 28.6 +/- 12.1, P less than 0.01 and 7.0 +/- 7 vs. 14.2 +/- 5, P less than 0.01). After 2 years of levodopa treatment they had a non-significant decrease of heart rate response to deep breathing test (21.8 +/- 10.6, P N.S.) and a still significant decrease of heart rate response to laying to standing test, but at a lesser level (7.7 +/- 7.0, P less than 0.05). Furthermore, they showed a significant decrease of the systolic and MAP orthostatic pressure to tilting table (-9.2 +/- 12.0 vs. +4.9 +/- 8.9 and -4.5 +/- 8.4 vs. +4.7 +/- 5.1, both P less than 0.01) probably due to medication. The other tests were never significant. We hazard as possible explanation an action of levodopa on dopaminergic neurons in the nucleus dorsalis of vagus.
We have tested the feasibility of local intraarterial thrombolytic therapy in ischemic stroke in the carotid artery territories observed within 5 h of the onset of symptoms. Only 5 of 615 consecutive patients were enrolled. They were 1 man and 4 women aged 50 to 75 years. Angiography disclosed occlusion of the M2 tract in one, of the M3 tract in one, of the carotid siphon in one of M4 tract in two. Intraarterial urokinase was infused at a mean dosage of 560,000 units close to the site of occlusion. Four of them had partial or complete recanalisation at early angiographic control and were independent at 6th month control. The one who did not demonstrate recanalisation was confined to a wheelchair. One patient, who had recanalisation, sustained a hemorrhagic transformation of the brain ischemia not interfering with outcome. Our experience, at the light of the low rate of enrollment, despite the results, suggest that intraarterial thrombolysis may be a therapeutic tool for selected patients with stroke in the carotid artery territories and not a routinary treatment for them.
