Strokecopilot: a literature-based clinical decision support system for acute ischemic stroke treatment.

BACKGROUND: Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is an immediate emergency whose management is becoming more and more personalized while facing a limited number of neurologists with high expertise. Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) are digital tools leveraging information and artificial intelligence technologies. Here, we present the Strokecopilot project, a CDSS for the management of the acute phase of AIS. It has been designed to support the evidence-based medicine reasoning of neurologists regarding the indications of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) and endovascular treatments (ET). METHODS: Reference populations were manually extracted from the field's main guidelines and randomized clinical trials (RCT). Their characteristics were harmonized in a computerized reference database. We developed a web application whose algorithm identifies the reference populations matching the patient's characteristics. It returns the latter's outcomes in a graphical user interface (GUI), whose design has been driven by real-world practices. RESULTS: Strokecopilot has been released at www.digitalneurology.net . The reference database includes 25 reference populations from 2 guidelines and 15 RCTs. After a request, the reference populations matching the patient characteristics are displayed with a summary and a meta-analysis of their results. The status regarding IVT and ET indications are presented as "in guidelines", "in literature", or "outside literature references". The GUI is updated to provide several levels of explanation. Strokecopilot may be updated as the literature evolves by loading a new version of the reference populations' database. CONCLUSION: Strokecopilot is a literature-based CDSS, developed to support neurologists in the management of the acute phase of AIS.

Blood Pressure and Risk of Cognitive Impairment: The Role of Vascular Disease in Neurodegeneration.

(1) Background: Both cerebral vascular disorders and cognitive decline increase in incidence with age. The role of cerebral vascular disease and hemodynamic changes in the development of cognitive deficits is controversial. The objective of this study was to assess the cardiovascular response during cardiac stress testing in neurologically asymptomatic individuals who developed cognitive impairment several years after previous cardiac stress testing. (2) Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent cardiac stress testing between January 2001 and December 2010. Patients were followed up until May 2015, and we selected those who developed cognitive dysfunction including dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and subjective cognitive decline, after the stress test. Heart rate and blood pressure both at rest and at peak exercise, and the mean R-R interval at rest were recorded. For each patient who developed cognitive impairment, we selected one matched control who did not show cognitive decline by the end of the follow-up period. (3) Results: From the cohort of 7224 patients, 371 developed cognitive impairment; of these, 186 (124 men) met the inclusion criteria, and 186 of the other patients were selected as matched controls. During follow-up, cognitive impairment appeared 6.2 ± 4.7 years after the cardiac stress test. These patients who had subsequently developed cognitive impairment had significantly lower at-rest systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressure than controls (p < 0.05). Further, compared with controls, their maximum heart rate was significantly higher at peak exercise. (4) Conclusion: The results from this study suggest that differences in cardiovascular response to stress might be present in individuals who develop cognitive decline. These findings challenge the possibility of assessing blood pressure and heart rate variability at rest and during cardiac stress as potential risk factors associated with cognitive impairment.