Epidemiology and treatment of atraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage over 10 years in a population-based registry.

INTRODUCTION: Incidence of atraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is decreasing over time and its treatment is changing. We reported epidemiologic data on aneurysmal (a-) and non-aneurysmal (na-) SAH over 10 years. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Our prospective population-based registry included patients with first-ever SAH occurring from January 2011 to December 2020. Clinical and neuroimaging records were screened to evaluate the presence and location of intracranial aneurysms, to identify naSAH subtypes and to retrieve information on surgical treatments. Incidence rates were standardized to the 2011 Italian and European population. We also estimated 30-day and 1-year case-fatality rates after SAH. Multivariate hazard ratios for 30-days and 1-year fatality were estimated with Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: 194 patients (60.8% women; mean age 62.5 ± 16.0 years) were included (76.8% aSAH and 23.2% naSAH). The crude incidence rates per 100,000 person-years of SAH, aSAH, and naSAH were 6.5 (95% CI 5.6-7.5), 5.0 (95% CI 4.2-5.9), and 1.5 (95% CI 1.1-2.0), respectively, and remained stable over time. Compared to aSAH, naSAH patients had higher age (68.8 ± 19.7 yearsvs 60.6 ± 14.2 years; p = 0.012), lower cigarette smoking (17.9%vs 36.4%; p < 0.001) and higher atrial fibrillation (15.7% vs 2.8%; p = 0.005). SAH case-fatality rates within 30-days and 1-year were 28.4% (95% CI 21.4-36.9) and 37.1% (95% CI 29.0-46.7), respectively. The relative proportion of surgically treated patients did not change over time. CONCLUSION: We found a low and stable incidence of SAH over the 2011-2020 period. naSAH remained rare and deserves further investigation in larger prospective cohorts.

Thrombolysis after dabigatran reversal: A nation-wide Italian multicentre study, systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Recent anticoagulant intake represents a contraindication for thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke. Idarucizumab reverses the anticoagulant effect of dabigatran, potentially allowing for thrombolysis. This nation-wide observational cohort study, systematic review, and meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of thrombolysis preceded by dabigatran-reversal in people with acute ischemic stroke. Patients and methods: We recruited people undergoing thrombolysis following dabigatran-reversal at 17 stroke centers in Italy (reversal-group), people on dabigatran treated with thrombolysis without reversal (no-reversal group), and age, sex, hypertension, stroke severity, and reperfusion treatment-matched controls in 1:7 ratio (control-group). We compared groups for symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH, main outcome), any brain hemorrhage, good functional outcome (mRS 0-2 at 3 months), and death. The systematic review followed a predefined protocol (CRD42017060274), and odds ratio (OR) meta-analysis was implemented to compare groups. Results: Thirty-nine patients in dabigatran-reversal group and 300 matched controls were included. Reversal was associated with a non-significant increase in sICH (10.3% vs 6%, aOR = 1.32, 95% CI = 0.39-4.52), death (17.9% vs 10%, aOR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.12-4.93) and good functional outcome (64.1% vs 52.8%, aOR = 1.41, 95% CI = 0.63-3.19). No hemorrhagic events or deaths were registered in no-reversal group (n = 12). Pooling data from 3 studies after systematic review (n = 1879), reversal carried a non-significant trend for sICH (OR = 1.53, 95% CI = 0.67-3.50), death (OR = 1.53, 95% CI = 0.73-3.24) and good functional outcome (OR = 2.46, 95% CI = 0.85-7.16). Discussion and conclusion: People treated with reperfusion strategies after dabigatran reversal with idarucizumab seem to have a marginal increase in the risk of sICH but comparable functional recovery to matched patients with stroke. Further studies are needed to define treatment cost-effectiveness and potential thresholds in plasma dabigatran concentration for reversal.

Reduction of in-hospital non-COVID-19 pneumonia in stroke patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Measures adopted to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2 could have led to a reduction in the rate of non-COVID-19 infections. We assessed whether a similar reduction was present in patients with stroke. METHODS: We performed a hospital-based study nested in a prospective population-based registry. We compared prevalence of infections and in-hospital mortality in subjects admitted for acute stroke between the first pandemic year (study period, from March 2020 to February 2021) and the pre-pandemic year (control period, from March 2019 to February 2020). Infections were reported as pneumonia (PNA), urinary tract infections (UTI), and any infection (INF). RESULTS: From the control (n = 677) to the study period (n = 520), the prevalence of INF decreased from 11.5 to 4.6% (p < 0.001) and that of PNA decreased from 6.9 to 2.5% (p = 0.001). No changes in in-hospital mortality and length of hospital stay were observed between the two periods. CONCLUSIONS: The observed reduction of in-hospital pneumonias in patients with stroke was likely attributable to the use of protective measures and limitation of hospital visits. Maintaining some of those measures in the long term may contribute to control infections in hospitalized patients with stroke.

Clinical usefulness of Edinburgh CT criteria in patients with lobar intracerebral hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Identifying the cause of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is relevant to optimize its management. We aimed to assess the applicability and utility of the Edinburgh CT criteria for cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) in an unselected cohort of hospitalized patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively applied the Edinburgh criteria to the first available brain CTs of patients hospitalized for a first-ever lobar ICH in the district of L'Aquila from 2011 to 2017. ICH characteristics and outcomes were compared according to the presence of the Edinburgh CT criteria, including associated subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) and finger-like projections (FLPs). The outcome of ICH in-hospital mortality was assessed with multivariate logistic regression analysis. We adopted the Edinburgh criteria, age, NIHSS and Glasgow Coma Scale scores, systolic blood pressure, antiplatelet treatment, ICH volume, and intraventricular extension on admission as covariates. RESULTS: Of 178 patients with lobar ICH, 52 (29.2%) had aSAH+FLPs, 60 (33.7%) aSAH only, 1 (0.6%) FLPs, and 65 (36.5%) none. Patients with aSAH+FLPs were older (79.0 ± 9.2 years) than those with only one criterion or none (74.0 ± 15.3 and 72.2 ± 13.8 years, respectively; P = 0.020). Patients with aSAH+FLPs also had more severe ICH at onset, higher in-hospital case-fatality (log rank test P = 0.003) and higher mRS scores at discharge (P < 0.001) as compared to those fulfilling one or none of the Edinburgh criteria. Low Glasgow Coma Scale score was the only factor independently associated to in-hospital case-fatality (odds ratio per point increase 0.51; 95% confidence interval, 0.32-0.91; P = 0.021). DISCUSSION: Our data suggest the applicability of the Edinburgh CT criteria in a hospital setting. The presence of those criteria reflects ICH clinical severity. CONCLUSIONS: Applying the Edinburgh CT criteria might help refining the diagnosis and improving the management of patients with lobar ICH.

Medication overuse and drug addiction: a narrative review from addiction perspective.

Chronic headache is particularly prevalent in migraineurs and it can progress to a condition known as medication overuse headache (MOH). MOH is a secondary headache caused by overuse of analgesics or other medications such as triptans to abort acute migraine attacks. The worsening of headache symptoms associated with medication overuse (MO) generally ameliorates following interruption of regular medication use, although the primary headache symptoms remain unaffected. MO patients may also develop certain behaviors such as ritualized drug administration, psychological drug attachment, and withdrawal symptoms that have been suggested to correlate with drug addiction. Although several reviews have been performed on this topic, to the authors best knowledge none of them have examined this topic from the addiction point of view. Therefore, we aimed to identify features in MO and drug addiction that may correlate. We initiate the review by introducing the classes of analgesics and medications that can cause MOH and those with high risk to produce MO. We further compare differences between sensitization resulting from MO and from drug addiction, the neuronal pathways that may be involved, and the genetic susceptibility that may overlap between the two conditions. Finally, ICHD recommendations to treat MOH will be provided herein.