Clinical outcomes of acute stroke thrombolysis in neurologist and non-neurologist centres – A comparative study in Malaysia

@#Acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) is a devastating disease and one of the leading causes of disabilities worldwide. From 2010 to 2014, the incidence of stroke in Malaysia had increased from 65 to 187 per 100,000 population.1 Thrombolytic therapy with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) within 4.5 hours of symptom onset has been shown to be an effective treatment for AIS. Patients who receive thrombolysis are 30 percent more likely to achieve excellent functional outcome (modified Rankin scale of 0 to 1) at 3 months compared to placebo.2 Unfortunately, the delivery of stroke thrombolysis service in Malaysia is often limited by the availability of neurologists. To date, the ratio of neurologists capable of performing thrombolysis serving in public hospitals to the Malaysian population is 1:1.4 million.3 To counteract this disparity and to cope with the increasing stroke burden in Malaysia, there has been an advocacy for greater involvement of non-neurologists, i.e., general and emergency physicians in performing of stroke thrombolysis.4 Emerging data based on short term outcomes appear to support this notion. Based on a 2015 single center study on 49 AIS patients in Australia, A. Lee et al., reported that there was no significant difference in door to needle time, rates of symptomatic intracranial bleeding (SICH), and mortality between patients thrombolysed by neurologists versus stroke physicians.5 In 2016, a larger multicentre study in Thailand reported that patients thrombolysed in hospitals without neurologists had lower National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores at discharge and lower inpatient mortality rate compared to patients treated in neurologist hospitals.6 Based on these short term outcomes, both studies suggest that nonneurologists are able to thrombolyse AIS patients safely and effectively. Data comparing long term functional outcomes in thrombolysis prescribed by neurologists and nonneurologists are still very limited. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the 3-month functional outcomes of thrombolytic therapy between hospitals with and without on-site neurologists. The secondary objective was to assess the doorto-needle time and complication rates of thrombolysis service in both hospitals

Socio-demographics and clinical characteristics affecting pre-hospital delays in acute stroke patients: A 6-year registry study from a Malaysian stroke hospital

@#Background and objectives: The cumulative time spent without medical intervention in acute stroke patients may affect clinical outcomes. As the onset-to-arrival time to the hospital is crucial for effective treatment interventions, this study aimed to explore the factors associated with pre-hospital delays amongst acute stroke patients. Methods: We explored 932 patients data retrieved from the National Neurology Registry of Seberang Jaya Hospital between January 2013 and December 2018. Data on patient demographics and stroke manifestations were analysed using descriptive, univariate and multivariate logistic regressions. Results: Most patients were men (62.9%) with an average age of 62 years old. In the final multivariate regression model, pre-hospital delay was significantly lower among Chinese patients (aOR=0.6, 95% CI 0.4–0.9, p=0.016) and those using hospital ambulance (aOR=0.4, 95% CI 0.3–0.7, p<0.001), but higher among patients with lacunar infarcts (aOR=2.5, 95% CI 1.4–3.3; p<0.001). Conclusions: Demographic characteristic (ethnicity) and stroke manifestations, particularly stroke subtypes, and mode of transport were mainly associated with pre-hospital delays among acute stroke patients.

Phenytoin toxicity presenting with acute visual loss and acute delirium, a case report

@#Phenytoin is a widely prescribed antiepileptic agent for both focal and generalized seizure. We report a case of a 20-year-old man with focal epilepsy presented with acute bilateral visual loss, and delirium. His random phenytoin serum concentration on admission was 43.6 mg/L, well above the recommended therapeutic range of 10-20 mg/L. Extensive investigations have ruled out other vascular or demyelinating causes. His visual symptoms completely resolved after discontinuing phenytoin for 84 hours. This case shows that acute phenytoin toxicity can result in reversible visual failure.

A Review of Stroke Research in Malaysia from 2000 – 2014

Over 100 articles related to stroke were found in a search through a database dedicated to indexing all literature with original data involving the Malaysian population between years 2000 and 2014. Stroke is emerging as a major public health problem. The development of the National Stroke Registry in the year 2009 aims to coordinate and improve stroke care, as well as to generate more data on various aspects of stroke in the country. Studies on predictors of survival after strokes have shown potential to improve the overall management of stroke, both during acute event and long term care. Stroke units were shown to be effective locally in stroke outcomes and prevention of stroke-related complications. The limited data looking at direct cost of stroke management suggests that the health economic burden in stroke management may be even higher. Innovative rehabilitation programmes including braincomputer interface technology were studied with encouraging results. Studies in traditional complementary medicine for strokes such as acupuncture, Urut Melayu and herbal medicine were still limited.