Ischemic stroke in young patients in Medellín, Colombia.

BACKGROUND: There is scarce information about ischemic stroke in young patients in Colombia. To get insights about this phenomenon, this study describes the etiologies and risk factors of ischemic stroke in young patients in a third level complexity referral hospital in Medellin, Colombia. METHODS: A retrospective observational cross-sectional study was carried out reviewing the medical records of patients between 18 to 49 years old admitted for the first time for ischemic stroke, from January 2009 to December 2019. The sociodemographic characteristics, risk factors, and etiological classification of ischemic stroke according to the Trial of Org 10,172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST) were described. RESULTS: Two hundred thirty-seven cases were found. The most frequent risk factors were arterial hypertension (31.7%), smoking (29.5%) and alcohol intake (23.2%). There was a greater number of traditional cardiovascular risk factors at older ages. The TOAST classification was large-artery atherosclerosis (6.8%), cardioembolism (17.7%), small-vessel disease (7.6%), other determined etiology (25.7%) and undetermined (42.2%). Within cardioembolism, the most common high-risk source was valve replacement, and the most common moderate-risk source was patent foramen ovale. Craniocervical arterial dissection (11.4%) and substance abuse (2.9%) were the two most frequent sources within other determined etiologies. The most common compromised vascular territory was the anterior (55.7%). CONCLUSIONS: The high frequency of traditional risk factors in young patients highlights the need to optimize primary and secondary prevention plans. This study provides new insights about the relevance of illicit substance abuse in Colombia as a cause of stroke in young patients, unlike the previous one conducted in Bogotá. Infectious causes were other peculiarities found. It is necessary to investigate the reasons for the high proportion of undetermined causes.

Cefaleas de localización y compromiso oculares / Headches with ocular localization and involvement

SE REVISAN las cefaleas primarias más frecuentes que comprometen las estructuras oculares y vecinas al globo ocular, las variantes de la migraña y las alteraciones propias del nervio óptico que alteran la función visual y que se acompañan no solamente de síntomas dolorosos sino también de trastornos vasomotores debidos a alteraciones del sistema nervioso autónomo que suelen ser comunes en algunos procesos neurálgicos llamados ahora cefaleas con compromiso disautonómico. En este artículo se comentan los elementos epidemiológicos de las diferentes enfermedades craneales, faciales y oculares que cursan con cefalea; las diferencias clínicas entre las mismas y su presentación semiológica, al igual que algunos elementos terapéuticos. Se discuten además algunos elementos fisiopatológicos de gran utilidad en el análisis de los procesos dolorosos craneofaciales y el perfil temporal de los mismos; también se comentan algunas cefaleas secundarias que comparten con las primarias elementos que se prestan a confusión en la clínica. Finalmente, se hace un análisis de las neuralgias faciales comunes.

The most frequent primary headaches, including migraine variants, and intrinsic optic nerve disorders that produce headache, are reviewed. The latter are often accompanied by autonomic nervous system alterations which lead to vasomotor changes, frequently present in neuralgic processes known as headaches with disautonomic involvement. Epidemiological, semiological, clinical, and therapeutical aspects of different cranial, facial and ocular diseases that produce headache are included. Some physiopathological elements that may help to analyze painful craniofacial processes are discussed. Secondary headaches and common facial neuralgias, on the other hand, are also considered because they may confuse the differential diagnosis.