Patterns of Care and Temporal Trends in Ischemic Stroke Management: A Brazilian Perspective.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Demonstration of an improvement process of quality indicators in stroke care is essential to obtain certification as a primary stroke center (PSC). Our aim was to evaluate factors that influence temporal trends in quality indicators of ischemic stroke (IS) in a Brazilian hospital. METHODS: We evaluated patients discharged with IS from a tertiary hospital from January 2009 to December 2013. Ten predefined performance measures selected by the Get With the Guidelines-Stroke program were assessed. We also compared 5 quality indicators available from a secondary community hospital for the first year of the series to those found in the tertiary hospital. RESULTS: We evaluated 551 patients at the tertiary stroke center (median age 77.0 years [interquartile range 64.0-84.0]; 58.4% were men). The quality indicators that improved with time were the use of cholesterol-lowering therapy (P = .02) and stroke education (P = .04). The median composite perfect care did not consistently improve throughout the period (P = .13). After a multivariable adjustment, only thrombolytic treatment (odds ratio [OR] 2.06, P < .01), dyslipidemia (OR 2.03, P < .01), and discharge in a Joint Commission International's (JCI) visit year (OR 1.8, P < .01) remained as predictors of a perfect care index of 85% or higher. The quality indicators with worse performance (anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation and cholesterol reduction) were similar in the tertiary and secondary community hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: We found a significant improvement in some quality indicators across the years in a PSC located in Latin America. The overall perfect care measure did not improve and was influenced by being discharged in a JCI visit year, having dyslipidemia, and having undergone thrombolytic treatment.

Score for atrial fibrillation detection in acute stroke and transient ischemic attack patients in a Brazilian population: the acute stroke atrial fibrillation scoring system.

OBJECTIVE: Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia that increases the risk of stroke by four- to five-fold. We aimed to establish a profile of patients with atrial fibrillation from a population of patients admitted with acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack using clinical and echocardiographic findings. METHODS: We evaluated patients consecutively admitted to a tertiary hospital with acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack. Subjects were divided into an original set (admissions from May 2009 to October 2010) and a validation set (admissions from November 2010 to April 2013). The study was designed as a cohort, with clinical and echocardiographic findings compared between patients with and without atrial fibrillation. A multivariable model was built, and independent predictive factors were used to produce a predictive grading score for atrial fibrillation (Acute Stroke AF Score-ASAS). RESULTS: A total of 257 patients were evaluated from May 2009 to October 2010 and included in the original set. Atrial fibrillation was diagnosed in 17.5% of these patients. Significant predictors of atrial fibrillation in the multivariate analysis included age, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scores, and the presence of left atrial enlargement. These predictors were used in the final logistic model. For this model, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.79. The score derived from the logistic regression analysis was The model developed from the original data set was then applied to the validation data set, showing the preserved discriminatory ability of the model (c statistic = 0.76). CONCLUSIONS: Our risk score suggests that the individual risk for atrial fibrillation in patients with acute ischemic stroke can be assessed using simple data, including age, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scores at admission, and the presence of left atrial enlargement.

Score for atrial fibrillation detection in acute stroke and transient ischemic attack patients in a Brazilian population: The acute stroke atrial fibrillation scoring system

OBJECTIVE: Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia that increases the risk of stroke by four- to five-fold. We aimed to establish a profile of patients with atrial fibrillation from a population of patients admitted with acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack using clinical and echocardiographic findings. METHODS: We evaluated patients consecutively admitted to a tertiary hospital with acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack. Subjects were divided into an original set (admissions from May 2009 to October 2010) and a validation set (admissions from November 2010 to April 2013). The study was designed as a cohort, with clinical and echocardiographic findings compared between patients with and without atrial fibrillation. A multivariable model was built, and independent predictive factors were used to produce a predictive grading score for atrial fibrillation (Acute Stroke AF Score-ASAS). RESULTS: A total of 257 patients were evaluated from May 2009 to October 2010 and included in the original set. Atrial fibrillation was diagnosed in 17.5% of these patients. Significant predictors of atrial fibrillation in the multivariate analysis included age, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scores, and the presence of left atrial enlargement. These predictors were used in the final logistic model. For this model, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.79. The score derived from the logistic regression analysis was The model developed from the original data set was then applied to the validation data set, showing the preserved discriminatory ability of the model (c statistic = 0.76). CONCLUSIONS: Our risk score suggests that the individual risk for atrial fibrillation in patients with acute ischemic stroke can be assessed using simple data, including age, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scores at admission, and the presence of left atrial enlargement. .

Pneumococcal meningitis, cerebral venous thrombosis, and cervical arterial dissection: a run of bad luck?

BACKGROUND: Pneumococcal meningitis in adults is widely associated with intracranial complications, which occur in up to 74.7% of the patients. METHOD: Case report. RESULTS: We report the case of a 40-year-old white female with pneumococcal meningitis after a sinus surgery, who developed a concomitant cerebral venous thrombosis and multiple cervical artery dissections. Following treatment with antibiotics and intravenous heparin, she had complete neurological recovery. CONCLUSIONS: Vascular complications should always be remembered and adequately treated in patients with bacterial meningitis. Cervical arterial dissections should be investigated as potential embolic sources of intracranial ischemic lesions.

Stroke epidemiology, patterns of management, and outcomes in Fortaleza, Brazil: a hospital-based multicenter prospective study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Little information exists on the epidemiology and patterns of treatment of patients admitted to Brazilian hospitals with stroke. Our objective was to describe the frequency of risk factors, patterns of management, and outcome of patients admitted with stroke in Fortaleza, the fifth largest city in Brazil. METHODS: Data were prospectively collected from consecutive patients admitted to 19 hospitals in Fortaleza with a diagnosis of stroke or transient ischemic attack from June 2009 to October 2010. RESULTS: We evaluated 2407 consecutive patients (mean age, 67.7±14.4 years; 51.8% females). Ischemic stroke was the most frequent subtype (72.9%) followed by intraparenchymal hemorrhage (15.2%), subarachnoid hemorrhage (6.0%), transient ischemic attack (3%), and undetermined stroke (2.9%). The median time from symptoms onset to hospital admission was 12.9 (3.8-32.5) hours. Hypertension was the most common risk factor. Only 1.1% of the patients with ischemic stroke received thrombolysis. The median time from hospital admission to neuroimaging was 3.4 (1.2-26.5) hours. In-hospital mortality was 20.9% and the frequency of modified Rankin Scale score≤2 at discharge was less than 30%. Older age, prestroke disability, and having a depressed level of consciousness at admission were independent predictors of poor outcome; conversely, male gender was a predictor of good outcome. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of stroke risk factors and clinical presentation in our cohort were similar to previous series. Treatment with thrombolysis and functional independency after a stroke admission were infrequent. We also found long delays in hospital admission and in evaluation with neuroimaging and high in-hospital mortality.