Incidence, outcomes, and associated factors of isolated striatocapsular infarct after mechanical thrombectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To describe baseline and procedural characteristics and clinical outcomes of isolated striatocapsular infarct (iSCI) after mechanical thrombectomy in patients with large-vessel occlusion of the anterior cerebral circulation and its clinical outcome. METHODS: We performed a longitudinal study including all patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy at our centre between 2015 and 2017; patients were divided into 2 groups (iSCI and non-iSCI) according to whether they presented iSCI in a control CT scan at 24 hours. RESULTS: Of the 83 patients identified, 22.9% developed an iSCI. There were no statically significant differences in baseline characteristics or in reperfusion times. Patients presenting iSCI showed better collateral circulation and better reperfusion rates in the bivariate analysis. No significant difference was observed for mortality at discharge or at 3 months, or for functional prognosis at 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: Even if successful reperfusion is achieved, iSCI is a common sequela, independently of reperfusion time, especially in patients with good collateral circulation.

Incidence, outcomes, and associated factors of isolated striatocapsular infarct after mechanical thrombectomy. / Incidencia, pronóstico y factores asociados al infarto estriatocapsular aislado tras trombectomía mecánica.

OBJECTIVES: To describe baseline and procedural characteristics and clinical outcomes of isolated striatocapsular infarct (iSCI) after mechanical thrombectomy in patients with large-vessel occlusion of the anterior cerebral circulation andits clinical outcome. METHODS: We performed a longitudinal study including all patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy at our centre between 2015 and 2017; patients were divided into 2 groups (iSCI and non-iSCI) according to whether they presented iSCI in a control CT scan at 24h. RESULTS: Of the 83 patients identified, 22.9% developed an iSCI. There were no statically significant differences in baseline characteristics or in reperfusion times. Patients presenting iSCI showed better collateral circulation and better reperfusion rates in the bivariate analysis. No significant difference was observed for mortality at discharge or at 3 months, or for functional prognosis at 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: Even if successful reperfusion is achieved, iSCI is a common sequela, independently of reperfusion time, especially in patients with good collateral circulation.

[Influence of mechanical thrombectomy on the incidence of isolated striatocapsular infarction and a description of its clinical characteristics]. / Influencia de la trombectomia mecanica en la incidencia de infarto estriatocapsular aislado y descripcion de sus caracteristicas clinicas.

INTRODUCTION: The great vulnerability of the striatocapsular region to ischaemia means that mechanical thrombectomy has its limitations in occlusions of large-calibre vessels when it comes to preventing the striatocapsular region from undergoing infarction. AIMS: To analyse the effect of endovascular treatment on the incidence of isolated striatocapsular infarction (iSCI) and to describe its clinical characteristics. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study to analyse the incidence of iSCI following treatment of cerebral reperfusion. The baseline and clinical characteristics of the patients identified with iSCI and the incidence of iSCI is compared between two groups according to the availability of mechanical thrombectomy: one (pre-thrombectomy group) that received intravenous fibrinolysis as the only treatment for cerebral reperfusion available in that moment; and another (post-thrombectomy group) that received a mechanical thrombectomy with or without intravenous fibrinolysis. RESULTS: Of the 390 patients who received reperfusion, 8.2% had iSCI. Of the 135 patients treated with intravenous fibrinolysis, 4.4% (n = 6) developed iSCI (pre-thrombectomy group), and of the 255 patients treated in the post-thrombectomy group, iSCI was observed in 10.2%. The statistical analysis of the incidence of iSCI between the two groups showed significant differences (p = 0.034). A sensory-motor clinical picture was the most frequent among the patients with iSCI (63.33%), with a frequency of cortical symptoms of 55.17%. CONCLUSIONS: According to the data, there has been an increase in the incidence of iSCI in our setting following the establishment of mechanical thrombectomy.

TITLE: Influencia de la trombectomia mecanica en la incidencia de infarto estriatocapsular aislado y descripcion de sus caracteristicas clinicas.Introduccion. La gran vulnerabilidad a la isquemia de la region estriatocapsular hace que la trombectomia mecanica tenga sus limitaciones en las oclusiones de vaso de gran calibre a la hora de evitar que la region estriatocapsular se infarte. Objetivos. Analizar el efecto del tratamiento endovascular en la incidencia de infarto estriatocapsular aislado (IECa) y describir sus caracteristicas clinicas. Pacientes y metodos. Estudio retrospectivo en el que se analiza la incidencia de IECa tras el tratamiento de reperfusion cerebral. Se describen las caracteristicas basales y clinicas de los pacientes identificados con IECa y se compara la incidencia del IECa entre dos grupos segun la disponibilidad de trombectomia mecanica: uno (grupo pretrombectomia) que recibio fibrinolisis intravenosa como unico tratamiento de reperfusion cerebral disponible en ese momento, y otro (grupo postrombectomia) que recibio trombectomia mecanica con o sin fibrinolisis intravenosa. Resultados. Del total de 390 pacientes reperfundidos, un 8,2% tuvo un IECa. De 135 pacientes tratados con fibrinolisis intravenosa, un 4,4% (n = 6) desarrollo un IECa (grupo pretrombectomia), y de 255 pacientes tratados en el grupo postrombectomia, se visualizo IECa en un 10,2%. El analisis estadistico de la incidencia de IECa entre ambos grupos mostro diferencias significativas (p = 0,034). La clinica sensomotora fue la mas frecuente entre los pacientes con IECa (63,33%), con una frecuencia de sintomas corticales de un 55,17%. Conclusiones. Segun los datos, hemos presenciado un aumento en la incidencia de IECa en nuestro medio tras la instauracion de la trombectomia mecanica.

No progression of the alterations in the cortical thickness of individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorder: a three-year longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging study of first-episode patients.

BACKGROUND: Cortical thickness measurement offers an index of brain development processes. In healthy individuals, cortical thickness is reduced with increasing age and is related to cognitive decline. Cortical thinning has been reported in schizophrenia. Whether cortical thickness changes differently over time in patients and its impact on outcome remain unanswered. METHOD: Data were examined from 109 patients and 76 healthy controls drawn from the Santander Longitudinal Study of first-episode schizophrenia for whom adequate structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were available (n = 555 scans). Clinical and cognitive assessments and MRIs were acquired at three regular time points during a 3-year follow-up period. We investigated likely progressive cortical thickness changes in schizophrenia during the first 3 years after initiating antipsychotic treatment. The effects of cortical thickness changes on cognitive and clinical variables were also examined along with the impact of potential confounding factors. RESULTS: There were significant diagnoses × scan time interaction main effects for total cortical thickness (F 1,309.1 = 4.60, p = 0.033) and frontal cortical thickness (F 1,310.6 = 5.30, p = 0.022), reflecting a lesser thinning over time in patients. Clinical and cognitive outcome was not associated with progressive cortical changes during the early years of the illness. CONCLUSIONS: Cortical thickness abnormalities do not unswervingly progress, at least throughout the first years of the illness. Previous studies have suggested that modifiable factors may partly account for cortical thickness abnormalities. Therefore, the importance of implementing practical actions that may modify those factors and improve them over the course of the illness should be highlighted.

[Diagnosing pneumothorax with ultrasonography]. / Diagnóstico ecográfico del neumotórax.

The ultrasonographic diagnosis of pneumothorax is based on the analysis of artifacts. It is possible to confirm or rule out pneumothorax by combining the following signs: lung sliding, the A and B lines, and the lung point. One fundamental advantage of lung ultrasonography is its easy access in any critical situation, especially in patients in the intensive care unit. For this reason, chest ultrasonography can be used as an alternative to plain-film X-rays and computed tomography in critical patients and in patients with normal plain films in whom pneumothorax is strongly suspected, as well as to evaluate the extent of the pneumothorax and monitor its evolution.