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Background: Despite benefits of endovascular treatment (EVT) for large vessel occlusion (LVO) ischemic stroke, space-occupying brain edema (BE) represents a detrimental complication. In critical-care settings, CT-imaging is needed for monitoring these patients. Yet, bed-side techniques with the potential to predict whether patients develop BE or not would facilitate a time- and cost-efficient patient care. We assessed clinical significance of automated pupillometry in the follow-up of patients undergoing EVT., Methods: From 10/2018 to 10/2021, neurocritical-care-unit patients were retrospectively enrolled after EVT of anterior circulation LVO. We monitored parameters of pupillary reactivity [light-reflex-latency (Lat), constriction- and redilation-velocities (CV, DV), percentage-change-of-apertures (per-change); NeurOptics-pupilometer ® ] up to every hour on day 1-3 of ICU stay. BE was defined as midline shift ≥ 5 mm on follow-up imaging 3-5 days after EVT. We calculated mean values of intra-individual differences between successive pairs of parameters (mean-deltas), determined best discriminative cut-off values for BE development (ROC-analyses), and evaluated prognostic performance of pupillometry for BE development (sensitivity/specificity/positive-/negative-predictive-values)., Results: 3241 pupillary assessments of 122 patients [67 women, 73 years (61.0-85.0)] were included. 13/122 patients developed BE. Patients with BE had significantly lower CVs, DVs, and smaller per-changes than patients without BE. On day 1 after EVT mean-deltas of CV, DV, and per-changes were significantly lower in patients with than without BE. Positive-predictive-values of calculated thresholds to discriminate both groups were considerably low, yet, we found high negative-predictive-values for CV, DV, per-changes, and mean-deltas (max.: 98.4%)., Conclusion: Our data suggest associations between noninvasively detected changes in pupillary reactivity and BE early after LVO-EVT. Pupillometry may identify patients who are unlikely to develop BE and may not need repetitive follow-up-imaging or rescue-therapy., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: The optimal management of patients with isolated posterior cerebral artery occlusion is uncertain. We compared clinical outcomes for endovascular therapy (EVT) versus medical management (MM) in patients with isolated posterior cerebral artery occlusion., Methods: This multinational case-control study conducted at 27 sites in Europe and North America included consecutive patients with isolated posterior cerebral artery occlusion presenting within 24 hours of time last well from January 2015 to August 2022. Patients treated with EVT or MM were compared with multivariable logistic regression and inverse probability of treatment weighting. The coprimary outcomes were the 90-day modified Rankin Scale ordinal shift and ≥2-point decrease in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale., Results: Of 1023 patients, 589 (57.6%) were male with median (interquartile range) age of 74 (64-82) years. The median (interquartile range) National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale was 6 (3-10). The occlusion segments were P1 (41.2%), P2 (49.2%), and P3 (7.1%). Overall, intravenous thrombolysis was administered in 43% and EVT in 37%. There was no difference between the EVT and MM groups in the 90-day modified Rankin Scale shift (aOR, 1.13 [95% CI, 0.85-1.50]; P =0.41). There were higher odds of a decrease in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale by ≥2 points with EVT (aOR, 1.84 [95% CI, 1.35-2.52]; P =0.0001). Compared with MM, EVT was associated with a higher likelihood of excellent outcome (aOR, 1.50 [95% CI, 1.07-2.09]; P =0.018), complete vision recovery, and similar rates of functional independence (modified Rankin Scale score, 0-2), despite a higher rate of SICH and mortality (symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, 6.2% versus 1.7%; P =0.0001; mortality, 10.1% versus 5.0%; P =0.002)., Conclusions: In patients with isolated posterior cerebral artery occlusion, EVT was associated with similar odds of disability by ordinal modified Rankin Scale, higher odds of early National Institutes of Health stroke scale improvement, and complete vision recovery compared with MM. There was a higher likelihood of excellent outcome in the EVT group despite a higher rate of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage and mortality. Continued enrollment into ongoing distal vessel occlusion randomized trials is warranted., Competing Interests: Disclosures Dr Asdaghi reported employment by the American Heart Association. Dr Dabus reported consultancy for Cerenovus, Penumbra, Route 92, Medtronic, MicroVention, and Stryker and stock holdings in RIST and InNeuroCo. Dr Fifi reported consultancy for Cerenovus, MicroVention, and Stryker; Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) for MIVI; and stock holdings in Imperative Care and Sim&Cure. Dr Fischer reported research support from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), Medtronic, Stryker, Rapid Medical, Penumbra, and Phenox; consultancies for Stryker and CSL Behring; and is on the advisory board for Alexion/Portola, Boehringer Ingelheim, Biogen, and Acthera. Dr Finitsis reports patent US11166738B2. Dr Haussen reported consultancy for Vesalio, Cerenovus, Stryker, Brainomix, Poseydon Medical, and Chiesi USA; DSMB from Jacobs Institute; and stock options in Viz AI. Dr Herweh reported consultancy for Brainomix and Speaker with Stryker. Dr Jadhav reports consulting with Basking Biosciences; stock options in Gravity Medical Technology; and a patent for a novel stent retriever device licensed to Basking Biosciences. Dr Kaesmacher reported grants from the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences/Bangerter Foundation, Swiss Stroke Society, and Clinical Trials Unit Bern. Dr Kaiser reported grants from the Joachim Herz Foundation. Dr Kuramatsu reports grants from Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Bayer Healthcare, Sanofi Pasteur, and Biogen Idec. Dr Pedro Marto reported consulting from Amicus Therapeutics and Boehringer Ingelheim and Speaker with Boehringer Ingelheim. Dr Michel reported grants from the University of Lausanne and Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF). Dr Möhlenbruch reported grants from Medtronic, Stryker, and MicroVention. Dr Mokin reported stock holdings in BrainQ, Serenity Medical, Synchron, and Bendit Technology and consulting from MicroVention, Medtronic, and Johnson & Johnson. Dr Nagel reported consultancy for Brainomix and is a speaker with Boehringer Ingelheim and Pfizer. Dr Nguyen reported research support from Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology (SVIN) and Medtronic and is on the advisory board with Idorsia. Dr Nogueira reported consultancy for Biogen, Brainomix, Corindus, Cerenovus, Stryker, Medtronic, Ceretrieve, Anaconda Biomed, Vesalio, Imperative Care, NeuroVasc Technologies, Viz AI, Genentech, Prolong Pharmaceuticals, Perfuze, Phenox, and RapidPulse; stock options in Viz AI, Vesalio, Perfuze, Corindus, Brainomix, and Ceretrieve; and grants from Cerenovus and Stryker. Dr Nolte reported compensation (other services) from Novartis, AstraZeneca, Deutsches Zentrum für Herz-Kreislaufforschung, and Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen and consultancy for Daiichi Sankyo, Bayer Healthcare, Pfizer, Alexion, and Bristol Myers Squibb. Dr Psychogios reported grants from Penumbra, Rapid Medical, Medtronic, Phenox, Bangerter-Rhyner Stiftung, SNF, Siemens Healthineers, and Stryker Neurovascular; travel support from Medtronic, Siemens Healthineers, Phenox, Penumbra, and Stryker; and consultancy for Siemens Healthineers. Dr Puetz reported being a lecturer for Daiichi Sankyo. Dr Ribo reported consultancy for Medtronic MiniMed, Cerenovus, AptaTargets, Stryker, and Philips and stock holdings in Methinks, Nora, and Anaconda Biomed. Dr Ringleb reported travel support from Bayer and Bristol Myers Squibb and consultancy for Daiichi Sankyo Company and Boehringer Ingelheim. Dr Sheth reported consultancy for Imperative Care, Viz AI, and Penumbra; compensation from Motif Neurosciences (other services); and grants from the National Institutes of Health. Dr Siddiqui reported an ownership stake in Integra Lifesciences and Medtronic; consultancy for Cordis, Rapid Medical, MicroVention, Medtronic Vascular, Vassol, IRRAS USA, Boston Scientific, Amnis Therapeutics, Minnetronix Neuro, Canon Medical Systems USA, Cardinal Health 200, Johnson & Johnson–Latin America, Corindus, Penumbra, Apellis Pharmaceuticals, W.L. Gore & Associates, Stryker Corporation, and Viz AI; stock holdings in E8, Spinnaker Medical, Endostream Medical, Cerebrotech Medical Systems, Adona Medical, Bend IT Technologies, Whisper Medical, Neurotechnology Investors, Collavidence, Instylla, Q’Appel Medical, Serenity Medical, Borvo Medical, NeuroRadial Technologies, Sense Diagnostics, Tulavi Therapeutics, Synchron, Neurolutions, Viseon, BlinkTBI, Radical Catheter Technologies, and Truvic Medical; stock options in Viz AI, StimMed, Three Rivers Medical, Silk Road Medical, Imperative Care, CVAID, Cerevatech Medical, InspireMD, and PerFlow Medical; and security holdings in Vastrax, Launch NY, QAS.ai, VICIS, Neurovascular Diagnostics, Cognition Medical, and SongBird Therapy. The other authors report no conflicts.

Objective: This study determined the effect of amantadine treatment on consciousness in patients with non-traumatic brain injury., Methods: We pooled individual patient data of five single-centre observational studies to determine the effect of amantadine treatment among patients with ischaemic stroke, intracerebral haemorrhage, subarachnoid haemorrhage, community-acquired bacterial meningitis and status epilepticus, admitted between January 2012 and December 2015 and ventilated ≥7 days. Patient selection and multivariable regression modelling were used to adjust for differences in intergroup comparison and for parameters associated with consciousness. Improvement of consciousness 5 days after treatment initiation was defined as primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) at day 5 and GCS at day 10, rate of ICU delirium, epileptic seizures and all-cause mortality at 90 days., Results: Overall, 84 of 294 (28.6%) eligible patients received amantadine. Amantadine treatment was associated with improvement of consciousness at day 5 (amantadine: 86.9% vs control: 54.0%; absolute difference: 32.9 (20.0-44.2); adjusted OR (aOR): 5.71 (2.50-13.05), p<0.001). Secondary outcomes showed differences in GCS 5 days (9 (8-11) vs 6 (3-9), p<0.001) and GCS 10 days (10(8-11) vs 9(6-11),p=0.003) after treatment initiation. There were no significant differences regarding all-cause mortality (aOR: 0.89 (0.44-1.82), p=0.758) and ICU delirium (aOR: 1.39 (0.58-3.31), p=0.462). Rate of epileptic seizures after initiation of amantadine treatment was numerically higher in the amantadine group (amantadine: 10.7% vs control: 3.0%; absolute difference: 7.7 (0.3-16.4); aOR: 3.68 (0.86-15.71), p=0.079)., Conclusions: Amantadine treatment is associated with improved consciousness among patients with different types of non-traumatic brain injury in this observational cohort analysis. Epileptic seizures should be considered as potential side effects and randomised controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings., Competing Interests: Competing interests: JBK reports personal fees from Bayer, personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb & Pfizer, personal fees from Sanofi, and personal fees from Boehringer Ingelheim outside the submitted work. BK reports personal fees from Bayer, personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb & Pfizer and personal fees from Medtronic outside the submitted work. HBH reports personal fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, personal fees from Bayer AG, personal fees from Daiichi Sankyo, grants and personal fees from Novartis, grants and personal fees from Portola Pharmaceuticals, grants and personal fees from Union Chimique Belge Pharma, and grants and personal fees from Medtronic outside the submitted work. MIS reports grants from IZKF and Marohn Foundation., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Data regarding the influence of concomitant parenchymatous hematoma (PH) on long-term outcomes in patients with atraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) are scarce. Further, it is not established if these patients benefit from surgical intervention., Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the influence of concomitant PH in SAH patients on functional long-term outcome, and whether these patients may benefit from surgical hematoma evacuation., Methods: Over a 5-year period, all consecutive patients with SAH treated at the Departments of Neurology, Neuroradiology, and Neurosurgery, at the University Hospital Erlangen (Germany) were recorded. In addition to the clinical and imaging characteristics of SAH, we documented the presence, location, and volume of PH as well as treatment parameters. Outcome assessment at 12 months included functional outcome (modified Rankin scale (mRS), favorable = 0-2), health-related quality of life, and long-term complications. For outcome analysis, a propensity score matching (ratio 1:1, caliper 0.1) was performed to compare SAH patients with and without PH. Sub-analyses were performed regarding PH treatment (surgical evacuation vs. conservative)., Results: A total of 494 patients with atraumatic SAH were available. Eighty-five (17.2%) had PH on initial imaging. SAH patients with PH had a worse clinical condition on admission and had a greater extent of subarachnoid/intraventricular hemorrhage. Median PH volume was 11.0 ml (5.4-31.8) with largest volumes observed in patients with ruptured middle cerebral artery (MCA)-aneurysm (31.7 ml (16.3-43.2)). After propensity-score matching (PSM), patients with PH had worse functional outcomes at 12 months (modified Rankin scale (mRS) 0-2: PH 31.8% vs. ØPH57.7% p < 0.001), and a lower rate of self-reported health compared to patients without PH (EQ-5D VAS: PH 50(30-70) vs. ØPH 80(65-95); p < 0.001). In PH patients, surgical evacuation was associated with a higher rate of favorable outcome at 12 months compared to those treated conservatively (surgery 14/28 (50.0%) vs. conservative 14/57 (24.6%); adjusted odds-ratio (OR; 95%CI): 1.34 (1.08-1.66); p = 0.001), irrespective of aneurysm location. Subgroup-analysis revealed positive associations of surgical hematoma evacuation with outcome in subgroups with larger PH volumes (>10 ml; OR (95%CI): 1.39 (1.09-1.79)), frontal PH location (OR 1.59 (1.14-2.23)), and early surgery (within 600 min after onset; OR 1.42 (1.03-1.94))., Conclusions: Concomitant PH occurs frequently in patients with SAH and is associated with functional impairment after 1 year. Surgical evacuation of PH may improve outcomes in these patients, irrespective of aneurysm-location.

Aims: This study determined the influence of age on bleeding characteristics and clinical outcomes in primary spontaneous (non-OAC), vitamin K antagonist-related (VKA-) and non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant-related (NOAC-) ICH., Methods: Pooled individual patient data of multicenter cohort studies were analyzed by logistic regression modelling and propensity-score-matching (PSM) to explore the influence of advanced age on clinical outcomes among non-OAC-, VKA-, and NOAC-ICH. Primary outcome measure was functional outcome at three months assessed by the modified Rankin Scale, dichotomized into favorable (mRS = 0-3) and unfavorable (mRS = 4-6) functional outcome. Secondary outcome measures included mortality, hematoma characteristics, and frequency of invasive interventions., Results: In VKA-ICH 33.5% (670/2001), in NOAC-ICH 44.2% (69/156) and in non-OAC-ICH 25.2% (254/1009) of the patients were ≥80 years. After adjustment for treatment interventions and relevant parameters, elderly ICH patients comprised worse functional outcome at three months (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) in VKA-ICH: 1.49 (1.21-1.84); p < 0.001; NOAC-ICH: 2.01 (0.95-4.26); p = 0.069; non-OAC-ICH: 3.54 (2.50-5.03); p < 0.001). Anticoagulation was significantly associated with worse functional outcome below the age of 70 years, (aOR: 2.38 (1.78-3.16); p < 0.001), but not in patients of ≥70 years (aOR: 1.21 (0.89-1.65); p = 0.217). The differences in initial ICH volume and extent of ICH enlargement between OAC-ICH and non-OAC-ICH gradually decreased with increasing patient age., Conclusions: As compared to elderly ICH-patients, in patients <70 years OAC-ICH showed worse clinical outcomes compared to non-OAC-ICH because of larger baseline ICH-volumes and extent of hematoma enlargement. Treatment strategies aiming at neutralizing altered coagulation should be aware of these findings.

Background: The most recent years have significantly expanded knowledge regarding risks and benefits of resuming oral anticoagulation (OAC) after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). No randomized data is yet available, though several large observational studies and meta-analyses have investigated the impact of resuming OAC on thromboembolic versus hemorrhagic complications in these high-risk patients after ICH., Aims: The present review will summarize the most important studies conducted over the last years and will focus on relevant factors help guiding on decision-making on whether to start OAC after ICH., Summary of Review: Several important factors (demographic, co-morbidities, clinical characteristics) need to be considered before individual decision-making for or against OAC is employed. Existing observational data suggest that patients after ICH with indication for long-term oral anticoagulation benefit from OAC given significant reductions of thromboembolic events without significantly increasing bleeding complications. Studies even suggest that thereby also clinical outcomes may be improved. Prospective trials currently recruiting patients will clarify whether OAC after ICH - or left atrial appendage closure as a meaningful alternative - is of clinical net-benefit., Conclusions: Large sized and well-executed investigations (moderate quality of evidence) are showing that OAC resumption after ICH decreases thromboembolic complications and long-term mortality without significantly increasing bleeding complications. Further, data suggest that resumption may be safer in non-lobar ICH compared to lobar ICH, but overall, thoughtful selection, strict blood pressure control, and precise communication are paramount before starting a patient on OAC after ICH.

Background and Purpose- Whether to resume oral anticoagulation treatment after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) remains an unresolved question. Previous studies focused primarily on recurrent stroke after ICH. We sought to investigate the association between cardioembolic stroke risk, oral anticoagulation therapy resumption, and functional recovery among ICH survivors in the absence of recurrent stroke. Methods- We conducted a joint analysis of 3 observational studies: (1) the multicenter RETRACE study (German-Wide Multicenter Analysis of Oral Anticoagulation Associated Intracerebral Hemorrhage); (2) the Massachusetts General Hospital ICH study (n=166); and (3) the ERICH study (Ethnic/Racial Variations of Intracerebral Hemorrhage; n=131). We included 941 survivors of ICH in the setting of active oral anticoagulation therapy for prevention of cardioembolic stroke because of nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and without evidence of ischemic stroke and recurrent ICH at 1 year from the index event. We created univariable and multivariable models to explore associations between cardioembolic stroke risk (based on CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc scores) and functional recovery after ICH, defined as achieving modified Rankin Scale score of ≤3 at 1 year for participants with modified Rankin Scale score of >3 at discharge. Results- In multivariable analyses, the CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score was associated with a decreased likelihood of functional recovery (odds ratio, 0.83 per 1 point increase; 95% CI, 0.79-0.86) at 1 year. Anticoagulation resumption was independently associated with a higher likelihood of recovery, regardless of CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score (odds ratio, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.32-2.70). We found an interaction between CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score and anticoagulation resumption in terms of association with increased likelihood of functional recovery (interaction P=0.011). Conclusions- Increasing cardioembolic stroke risk is associated with a decreased likelihood of functional recovery at 1 year after ICH, but this association was weaker among participants resuming oral anticoagulation therapy. These findings support, including recovery metrics, in future studies of anticoagulation resumption after ICH.

Objective: Oral anticoagulation treatment (OAT) resumption is a therapeutic dilemma in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) care, particularly for lobar hemorrhages related to amyloid angiopathy. We sought to determine whether OAT resumption after ICH is associated with long-term outcome, accounting for ICH location (ie, lobar vs nonlobar)., Methods: We meta-analyzed individual patient data from: (1) the multicenter RETRACE study (n = 542), (2) a U.S.-based single-center ICH study (n = 261), and (3) the Ethnic/Racial Variations of Intracerebral Hemorrhage study (n = 209). We determined whether, within 1 year from ICH, OAT resumption was associated with: (1) mortality, (2) favorable functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale = 0-3), and (3) stroke incidence. We separately analyzed nonlobar and lobar ICH cases using propensity score matching and Cox regression models., Results: We included 1,012 OAT-related ICH survivors (633 nonlobar and 379 lobar). Among nonlobar ICH survivors, 178/633 (28%) resumed OAT, whereas 86/379 (23%) lobar ICH survivors did. In multivariate analyses, OAT resumption after nonlobar ICH was associated with decreased mortality (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.25, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.14-0.44, p < 0.0001) and improved functional outcome (HR = 4.22, 95% CI = 2.57-6.94, p < 0.0001). OAT resumption after lobar ICH was also associated with decreased mortality (HR = 0.29, 95% CI = 0.17-0.45, p < 0.0001) and favorable functional outcome (HR = 4.08, 95% CI = 2.48-6.72, p < 0.0001). Furthermore, OAT resumption was associated with decreased all-cause stroke incidence in both lobar and nonlobar ICH (both p < 0.01)., Interpretation: These results suggest novel evidence of an association between OAT resumption and outcome following ICH, regardless of hematoma location. These findings support conducting randomized trials to explore risks and benefits of OAT resumption after ICH. Ann Neurol 2017;82:755-765., (© 2017 American Neurological Association.)

Objective: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies reporting recurrent intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) and ischemic stroke (IS) in ICH survivors with atrial fibrillation (AF) during long-term follow-up., Methods: A comprehensive literature search including MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane library, clinical trials registry was performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. We considered studies capturing outcome events (ICH recurrence and IS) for ≥3 months and treatment exposure to vitamin K antagonists (VKAs), antiplatelet agents (APAs), or no antithrombotic medication (no-ATM). Corresponding authors provided aggregate data for IS and ICH recurrence rate between 6 weeks after the event and 1 year of follow-up for each treatment exposure. Meta-analyses of pooled rate ratios (RRs) were conducted with the inverse variance method., Results: Seventeen articles met inclusion criteria. Seven observational studies enrolling 2,452 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Pooled RR estimates for IS were lower for VKAs compared to APAs (RR = 0.45, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.27-0.74, p = 0.002) and no-ATM (RR = 0.47, 95% CI 0.29-0.77, p = 0.002). Pooled RR estimates for ICH recurrence were not significantly increased across treatment groups (VKA vs APA: RR = 1.34, 95% CI 0.79-2.30, p = 0.28; VKA vs no-ATM: RR = 0.93, 95% CI 0.45-1.90, p = 0.84)., Conclusions: In observational studies, anticoagulation with VKA is associated with a lower rate of IS than APA or no-ATM without increasing ICH recurrence significantly. A randomized controlled trial is needed to determine the net clinical benefit of anticoagulation in ICH survivors with AF., (© 2017 American Academy of Neurology.)

Background: Data on clinical characteristics and outcome of patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and concomitant systemic cancer disease are very limited., Methods: Nine hundred and seventy three consecutive primary ICH patients were analyzed using our prospective institutional registry over a period of 9 years (2006-2014). We compared clinical and radiological parameters as well as outcome - scored using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and analyzed in a dichotomized fashion as favorable outcome (mRS = 0-3) and unfavorable outcome (mRS = 4-6) - of ICH patients with and without cancer. Relevant imbalances in baseline clinical and radiological characteristics were adjusted using propensity score (PS) matching., Results: Prevalence of systemic cancer among patients with ICH was 8.5% (83/973). ICH patients with cancer were older (77 [70-82] vs. 72 [63-80] years; p = 0.002), had more often prior renal dysfunction (19/83 [22.9%] vs.107/890 [12.0%]; p = 0.005), and smaller hemorrhage volumes (10.1 [4.8-24.3] vs. 15.3 [5.4-42.9] mL; p = 0.017). After PS-matching there were no significant differences neither in mortality nor in functional outcome both at 3 months (mortality: 33/81 [40.7%] vs. 55/158 [34.8%]; p = 0.368; mRS = 0-3: 28/81 [34.6%] vs. 52/158 [32.9%]; p = 0.797) and 12 months (mortality: 39/78 [50.0%] vs. 70/150 [46.7%]; p = 0.633; mRS = 0-3: 25/78 [32.1%] vs. 53/150 [35.3%]; p = 0.620) among patients with and without concomitant systemic cancer. ICH volume tended to be highest in patients with hematooncologic malignancy and smallest in urothelial cancer., Conclusions: Patients with ICH and concomitant systemic cancer on average are older; however, they show smaller ICH volumes compared to patients without cancer. Yet, mortality and functional outcome is not different in ICH patients with and without cancer. Thus, the clinical history or the de novo diagnosis of concomitant malignancies in ICH patients should not lead to unjustified treatment restrictions., (© 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Background: Intravenous thrombolysis for acute stroke is more efficient the earlier the treatment is initiated. In-hospital delays account for a significant proportion of avoidable time loss before treatment is initiated. Paradoxically, studies have reported longer door-to-needle times the earlier the patients arrive ('three-hour effect'). Hypothesis We hypothesized that a standardized thrombolysis procedure carried out in a specialized neurological emergency room can minimize in-hospital delays and erase the 'three-hour effect'., Methods: Onset-to-door and door-to-needle times of 246 consecutive thrombolysis patients were analyzed. A standardized protocol designed to minimize in-hospital delays was tested using a resident-based stroke team within a neurological emergency room. Correlation of onset-to-door and door-to-needle times was measured as well as differences in treatment times for daytime versus night hours and weekend vs. weekday. Outcome, rate of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage and mortality were compared with the results of SITS-MOST., Results: Median door-to-needle time was 25 min compared with a mean of 68 min in SITS-MOST. door-to-needle time did not correlate with onset-to-door time (Pearson's r = -0 · 097; P = 0 · 13) and patients arriving within 90 min from symptom onset showed comparable door-to-needle times with patients arriving within 90-180 min. Neither treatment on weekends nor during night hours led to significant in-hospital treatment delays. Outcome and safety parameters were comparable with those observed in SITS-MOST., Conclusions: By applying a standardized and diligently monitored thrombolysis protocol, carried out by a specialized stroke team within a neurological emergency room, in-hospital delays can be minimized. This allows improvement of door-to-needle times irrespective of the time to arrival and treatment during off-hours., (© 2011 The Authors. International Journal of Stroke © 2011 World Stroke Organization.)

Background: The avoidance of hematoma expansion is the most important therapeutic goal during acute care of patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. Hematoma expansion occurs in up to 20–40% of patients and leads to poorer patient outcome in one of the most severe sub-types of stroke. Main text: At current, randomized controlled trials have failed to provide evidence for interventions that effectively improve functional outcome in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. Hence, hematoma expansion may serve as important surrogate target that appears causally linked with a poorer prognosis. Therefore, reduction of hematoma expansion rates will eventually translate to improved patient outcome overall. Recent years have shed light on the importance of early and aggressive treatment in order to reduce the risk for hematoma expansion in these patients. Time measures and imaging markers have been identified that may allow patient selection at very high risk for hematoma expansion. Conclusions: Refinements in patient selection may increase chance for randomized trials to show true benefit. Therefore, this current review article will critically evaluate and discuss available evidence associated with hematoma expansion in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the occurrence of intracranial haemorrhagic complications (IHC) on heparin prophylaxis (low-dose subcutaneous heparin, LDSH) in primary spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) (not oral anticoagulation-associated ICH, non-OAC-ICH), vitamin K antagonist (VKA)-associated ICH and non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC)-associated ICH.Methods: Retrospective cohort study (RETRACE) of 22 participating centres and prospective single-centre study with 1702 patients with VKA-associated or NOAC-associated ICH and 1022 patients with non-OAC-ICH with heparin prophylaxis between 2006 and 2015. Outcomes were defined as rates of IHC during hospital stay among patients with non-OAC-ICH, VKA-ICH and NOAC-ICH, mortality and functional outcome at 3 months between patients with ICH with and without IHC.Results: IHC occurred in 1.7% (42/2416) of patients with ICH. There were no differences in crude incidence rates among patients with VKA-ICH, NOAC-ICH and non-OAC-ICH (log-rank p=0.645; VKA-ICH: 27/1406 (1.9%), NOAC-ICH 1/130 (0.8%), non-OAC-ICH 14/880 (1.6%); p=0.577). Detailed analysis according to treatment exposure (days with and without LDSH) revealed no differences in incidence rates of IHC per 1000 patient-days (LDSH: 1.43 (1.04-1.93) vs non-LDSH: 1.32 (0.33-3.58), conditional maximum likelihood incidence rate ratio: 1.09 (0.38-4.43); p=0.953). Secondary outcomes showed differences in functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale=4-6: IHC: 29/37 (78.4%) vs non-IHC: 1213/2048 (59.2%); p=0.019) and mortality (IHC: 14/37 (37.8%) vs non-IHC: 485/2048 (23.7%); p=0.045) in disfavour of patients with IHC. Small ICH volume (OR: volume <4.4 mL: 0.18 (0.04-0.78); p=0.022) and low National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score on admission (OR: NIHSS <4: 0.29 (0.11-0.78); p=0.014) were significantly associated with fewer IHC.Conclusions: Heparin administration for venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis in patients with ICH appears to be safe regarding IHC among non-OAC-ICH, VKA-ICH and NOAC-ICH in this observational cohort analysis. Randomised controlled trials are needed to verify the safety and efficacy of heparin compared with other methods for VTE prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The influence of prior nicotine or alcohol use (legal drug use [LDU]) on outcome measures after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is insufficiently established. We investigated drug-specific associations with (1) neuroradiologic and clinical parameters and (2) functional long-term outcome after ICH.Methods: This observational cohort study analyzed consecutive spontaneous patients with ICH (n = 554) from our prospective institutional registry over a 5-year study period (January 2010 to December 2014). We compared no-LDU patients with LDU patients, and patients using only nicotine, only alcohol, or both. To account for baseline imbalances, we reanalyzed cohorts after propensity score matching.Results: Prevalence of prior LDU was 197 of 554 (35.6%), comprising 94 of 554 (17.0%) with only nicotine use, 33 of 554 (6.0%) with only alcohol use, and 70 of 554 (12.6%) with alcohol and nicotine use. LDU patients were younger (65 [56-73] versus 75 [67-82], P <.01), less often female (n = 61 of 197 [31.0%] versus n = 188 of 357 [52.7%], P <.01), had more often prior myocardial infarction (n = 29 of 197 [14.7%] versus n = 24 of 357 [6.7%], P <.01), and in-hospital complications (sepsis or systemic inflammatory response syndrome: n = 95 of 197 [48.2%] versus n = 98 of 357 [27.5%], P <.01; pneumonia: n = 89 of 197 [45.2%] versus n = 110 of 357 [30.8%], P <.01). Except for an increased risk of pneumonia (odds ratio 2.22, confidence interval [1.04-4.75], P = .04) in patients using both nicotine and alcohol, we detected no significant differences upon reanalysis after propensity score matching of neuroradiologic or clinical parameters, complications, or long-term outcome between patients with and without LDU (mortality: n = 48 of 150 [32.0%] versus n = 45 of 150 [30.0%], P = .71; favorable outcome [modified Rankin Scale 0-3]: n = 56 of 150 [37.3%] versus n = 53 of 150 [35.3%], P = .72).Conclusions: Prior nicotine use, alcohol use, and their combination were associated with significant differences in baseline characteristics. However, adjusting for unevenly balanced baseline parameters revealed no differences in functional long-term outcome after ICH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]