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Background: In the SPOTLIGHT trial (Spot Sign Selection of Intracerebral Hemorrhage to Guide Hemostatic Therapy), patients with a computed tomography (CT) angiography spot-sign positive acute intracerebral hemorrhage were randomized to rFVIIa (recombinant activated factor VIIa; 80 μg/kg) or placebo within 6 hours of onset, aiming to limit hematoma expansion. Administration of rFVIIa did not significantly reduce hematoma expansion. In this prespecified analysis, we aimed to investigate the impact of delays from baseline imaging to study drug administration on hematoma expansion. Methods: Hematoma volumes were measured on the baseline CT, early post-dose CT, and 24 hours CT scans. Total hematoma volume (intracerebral hemorrhage+intraventricular hemorrhage) change between the 3 scans was calculated as an estimate of how much hematoma expansion occurred before and after studying drug administration. Results: Of the 50 patients included in the trial, 44 had an early post-dose CT scan. Median time (interquartile range) from onset to baseline CT was 1.4 hours (1.2–2.6). Median time from baseline CT to study drug was 62.5 (55–80) minutes, and from study drug to early post-dose CT was 19 (14.5–30) minutes. Median (interquartile range) total hematoma volume increased from baseline CT to early post-dose CT by 10.0 mL (−0.7 to 18.5) in the rFVIIa arm and 5.4 mL (1.8–8.3) in the placebo arm ( P =0.96). Median volume change between the early post-dose CT and follow-up scan was 0.6 mL (−2.6 to 8.3) in the rFVIIa arm and 0.7 mL (−1.6 to 2.1) in the placebo arm ( P =0.98). Total hematoma volume decreased between the early post-dose CT and 24-hour scan in 44.2% of cases (rFVIIa 38.9% and placebo 48%). The adjusted hematoma growth in volume immediately post dose for FVIIa was 0.998 times that of placebo ([95% CI, 0.71–1.43]; P =0.99). The hourly growth in FFVIIa was 0.998 times that for placebo ([95% CI, 0.994–1.003]; P =0.50; Table 3). Conclusions: In the SPOTLIGHT trial, the adjusted hematoma volume growth was not associated with Factor VIIa treatment. Most hematoma expansion occurred between the baseline CT and the early post-dose CT, limiting any potential treatment effect of hemostatic therapy. Future hemostatic trials must treat intracerebral hemorrhage patients earlier from onset, with minimal delay between baseline CT and drug administration. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT01359202.

Background The relationship between duration of transient neurological events and presence of diffusion‐weighted lesions by symptom type is unclear. Methods and Results This was a substudy of SpecTRA (Spectrometry for Transient Ischemic Attack Rapid Assessment), a multicenter prospective cohort of patients with minor ischemic cerebrovascular events or stroke mimics at academic emergency departments in Canada. For this study we included patients with resolved symptoms and determined the presence of diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI) lesion on magnetic resonance imaging within 7 days. Using logistic regression, we evaluated the association between symptom duration and DWI lesion, assessing for interaction with symptom type (focal only versus nonfocal/mixed), and adjusting for age, sex, education, comorbidities, and systolic blood pressure. Of 658 patients included, a DWI lesion was present in 232 (35.1%). There was a significant interaction between symptom duration and symptom type. For those with focal‐only symptoms, there was a continuous increase in DWI probability up to 24 hours in duration (ranging from ≈40% to 80% probability). In stratified analyses, the increase in probability of DWI lesion with increased duration of focal symptoms was seen in women but not men. For those with nonfocal or mixed symptoms, predicted probability of DWI lesion was ≈35% and was greater in men, but did not increase with longer duration. Conclusions Increased duration of neurological deficits is associated with greater probability of DWI lesion in those with focal symptoms only. For individuals with nonfocal or mixed symptoms, about one‐third had DWI lesions, but the probability did not increase with duration. These results may be important to improve risk stratification of transient neurological events.

Prolonged cardiac rhythm monitoring reveals atrial fibrillation (AF) in 16-42% of patients who undergo monitoring for up to 6 months after a cryptogenic stroke. The feasibility of prolonged cardiac monitoring, AF detection rates and the impact of earlier screening after suspected cardioembolic infarct in a community setting is unknown. Methods: This prospective study examined patient compliance and AF detection rates with prolonged cardiac monitoring started within 30 days of a stroke/TIA. 181 patients ≥ 55 years old with a suspected cardioembolic stroke/TIA that occurred in the preceding 30 days were referred for 30-day cardiac monitoring. Patients were educated about reasons for monitoring and test procedures for 15-20 minutes. A Spiderflash-t or Northeast DR 200 monitor, programmed for detecting AF, was used. Auto-triggered and patient-activated recordings obtained during two consecutive 15-day monitoring periods were assessed. Either 3-day serial ECG or ≥24h Holter monitor was also completed in 119/181 patients. The primary outcome was patient compliance with 30 days of monitoring. Secondary outcomes included detection of any duration of AF within the two monitoring periods. Results: The compliance rate for the full 30-day monitoring period was 98.9% (179/181). AF was detected on 30-day monitor in 11.6% (21/181) of patients. Of the patients who received both 3-day serial ECG or ≥24h Holter and 30-day monitoring, AF was only detected in 0.84% (1/119) with 3-day serial ECG and/or Holter monitoring vs. 14.3% (17/119) with 30-day monitoring. AF was detected in 76.2% (16/21) of patients in the first 15 day period. 14 patients had AF lasting longer than 6 minutes, 5 had AF lasting between 30 secs - 6 min and 2 had AF < 30 secs. Of patients who completed the 30-day monitoring, 38.8% had AF recurring through the 30 days. 85.7% (18/21) of patients were switched to a novel oral anticoagulant (NOAC), while 3 patients died and thus could not be switched to a NOAC. In conclusion, 30-day cardiac monitoring is feasible in a community setting with high compliance rates, yields similar AF detection rates as seen in clinical trials and positively impacts patient management. There are missed opportunities for secondary stroke prevention in the community without 30-day monitoring.