Project description:When a main artery of the brain occludes, a cellular response involving multiple cell types follows. Cells directly affected by the lack of glucose and oxygen in the neuronal core die by necrosis. In the periphery surrounding the ischemic core (the so-called penumbra) neurons, astrocytes, microglia, oligodendrocytes, pericytes, and endothelial cells react to detrimental factors such as excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, and inflammation in different ways. The fate of the neurons in this area is multifactorial, and communication between all the players is important for survival. This review focuses on the latest research relating to synaptic loss and the release of apoptotic bodies and other extracellular vesicles for cellular communication in stroke. We also point out possible treatment options related to increasing neuronal survival and regeneration in the penumbra.
Project description:BackgroundThere is limited information about non-selective and contemporary data on quality of stroke care and its variation among hospitals at a national level.Patients and methodsWe analysed data of the patients admitted to 258 acute stroke care hospitals covering the entire country from the Acute Stroke Quality Assessment Program, which was performed by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service from 2008 to 2014 in South Korea. The primary outcome measure was defect-free stroke care (all-or-none), based on six get with the guidelines-stroke performance measures (except venous thromboembolism prophylaxis).ResultsAmong 43,793 acute stroke patients (mean age, 67 ± 14 years; male, 55%), 31,915 (72.9%) were hospitalised due to ischaemic stroke. At a patient level, defect-free stroke care steadily increased throughout the study period (2008, 80.2% vs. 2014, 92.1%), but there were large disparities among hospitals (mean = 50.7%, SD = 21.7%). Defect-free stroke care was given more frequently in patients being treated in hospitals with 25 or more stroke cases per month (odds ratio [OR] 2.83; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.69-4.72), delivery of intravenous thrombolysis one or more times per month (OR 2.37; 95% CI 1.44-3.92), or provision of stroke unit care (OR 1.75; 95% CI 1.22-2.52).DiscussionThis study shows that the quality of stroke care in Korea is improving over time and is higher in centres with a larger volume of stroke or intravenous thrombolysis cases and providing stroke unit care but hospital disparities exist.ConclusionReducing large differences in defect-free stroke care among acute stroke care hospitals should be continuously pursued.
Project description:Although stroke is a significant public health challenge and the need for palliative care has been emphasized for these patients, there is limited data on end-of-life care for patients dying from stroke.To study the end-of-life care during the last week of life for patients who had died of stroke in terms of registered symptom, symptom management, and communication, in comparison with patients who had died of cancer.This study is a retrospective, comparative registry study.A retrospective comparative registry study was performed using data from a Swedish national quality register for end-of-life care based on WHO`s definition of Palliative care. Data from 1626 patients who had died of stroke were compared with data from 1626 patients who had died of cancer. Binary logistic analyses were used to calculate odds ratios, with 95% CI.Compared to patients who was dying of cancer, the patients who was dying of stroke had a significantly higher prevalence of having death rattles registered, but a significantly lower prevalence of, nausea, confusion, dyspnea, anxiety, and pain. In addition, the stroke group had significantly lower odds ratios for health care staff not to know whether all these six symptoms were present or not. Patients who was dying of stroke had significantly lower odds ratio of having informative communication from a physician about the transition to end-of-life care and of their family members being offered bereavement follow-up.The results indicate on differences in end-of-life care between patients dying of stroke and those dying from cancer. To improve the end-of-life care in clinical practice and ensure it has consistent quality, irrespective of diagnosis, education and implementation of palliative care principles are necessary.
Project description:Healthcare resources vary geographically, but associations between hospital-based resources and acute stroke quality and outcomes remain unclear. Using Get With The Guidelines-Stroke and Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care data, we examined associations between healthcare resource availability, stroke care, and outcomes. We categorized hospital referral regions with high-, medium-, or low-resource levels based on the 2006 national per-capita availability median of 6 relevant acute stroke care resources. Using multivariable logistic regression, we examined healthcare resource level and in-hospital quality and outcomes. Of 1 480 308 admitted ischemic stroke patients (2006-2013), 28.8% were hospitalized in low-, 44.4% in medium-, and 26.9% in high-resource hospital referral regions. Quality-of-care/timeliness metrics, adjusted length of stay, and in-hospital mortality were similar across all resource levels. Significant variation exists in regional availability of healthcare resources for acute ischemic stroke treatment, yet among Get With the Guidelines-Stroke hospitals, quality of care and in-hospital outcomes did not differ by regional resource availability.
Project description:BackgroundThere are a large number of stroke patients in China, and there is currently a lack of prehospital acute stroke care training programs.AimTo develop a prehospital emergency medical service (PEMS) training program to improve the prehospital identification and acute care of acute stroke.MethodsForty prehospital emergency doctors whose service stations are located within a 10 km radius from Shanghai Pudong New Area Medical Emergency Service Center took this course on November 13, 2014. A questionnaire was designed to evaluate the PEMS personnel's knowledge in stroke and acute stroke care and was conducted before and after training as an assessment of the effectiveness of training. The patient population in this study included a baseline cohort before training and a prospective cohort after training, each composed of patients who were sent to Shanghai East Hospital South Stoke Center within one year. The transit time, final diagnosis, administration of thrombolysis, and door-to-needle time (DNT) were collected and analyzed.ResultsAfter the training, 100% of the PEMS personnel were competent to identify stroke cases using the Cincinnati prehospital stroke scale (CPSS). All participants realized that intravenous thrombolysis therapy in a time-sensitive manner is the most effective way to treat acute ischemic stroke. Although there was no difference in first-aid transit time before and after training, the stroke diagnosis rate improved by 6.5% after training (P=0.03). The thrombolysis rate increased to 29.6% from 24.3% but did not reach statistical significance. Compared to 84.0 minutes (standard deviation: 23.1 minutes) before the training, the average DNT after training was 53 minutes (standard deviation: 15.0 minutes), demonstrating a remarkable reduction (P < 0.01).ConclusionThe training program effectively improved the PEMS personnel's knowledge in stroke and stroke acute care.
Project description:ObjectivesTo examine the effectiveness of hospice services for persons dying from dementia from the perspective of bereaved family members.DesignMortality follow-back survey.SettingDeath certificates were drawn from five states (AL, FL, TX, MA, and MN).ParticipantsBereaved family members listed as the next of kin on death certificates when dementia was listed as the cause of death.MeasurementsRatings of the quality of end-of-life care, perceptions of unmet needs, and opportunities to improve end-of-life care. Two questions were also asked about the peacefulness of dying and quality of dying.ResultsOf 538 respondents, 260 (48.3%) received hospice services. Family members of decedents who received hospice services reported fewer unmet needs and concerns with quality of care (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=0.49, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.33-0.74) and a higher rating of the quality of care (AOR=2.0, 95% CI=1.53-2.72). They also noted better quality of dying than those without hospice services.ConclusionBereaved family members of people with dementia who received hospice reported higher perceptions of the quality of care and quality of dying.
Project description:BackgroundTo improve stroke care quality, the guidelines for stroke center construction in China recommended establishing primary stroke centers (PSCs) and comprehensive stroke centers (CSCs). We aimed to compare stroke care quality between the two types of centers.MethodsData were collected from acute stroke patients admitted to PSCs or CSCs in the China Stroke Center Alliance program. Twenty-one individual guideline-recommended performance measures and two summary measures were compared between the two groups. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine the association between stroke center status (CSC vs. PSC) and healthcare quality.FindingsData from 750,594 stroke patients from 1474 stroke centers (252 CSCs and 1222 PSCs) were analyzed. For many components of healthcare performance in stroke patients, comparable levels of performance were observed between CSCs and PCSs. Nonetheless, CSCs outperformed PSCs in the areas of administering intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator within 4.5 h (aOR = 1.31 [95% CI: 1.07-1.60]), rehabilitation for acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) (aOR = 1.19 [95% CI: 1.01-1.40]), and the provision of hypoglycemic medication and statin therapy upon discharge for AIS (aOR = 1.26 [95% CI: 1.00-1.59] and aOR = 1.28 [95% CI: 1.04-1.59], respectively). More patients with intracerebral haemorrhage and subarachnoid haemorrhage received neurosurgery in CSCs (14.4% vs. 10.6% and 51.0% vs. 33.9%, respectively). Additionally, CSCs had higher in-hospital mortality than PSCs (aOR = 1.33 [95% CI: 1.01-1.73]).InterpretationOverall PSCs provided equivalent care for many quality measures to CSCs in China with the exception of thrombolysis, rehabilitation access, and medication at discharge for AIS, whereby improvements should be directed. Nevertheless, PSCs have demonstrated lower risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality rates.FundingThe National Key Research and Development Projects of China.
Project description:BACKGROUND:Lower care quality and an increase in adverse outcomes as a result of new medical trainees is a concept well rooted in popular belief, termed the "July phenomenon." Whether this phenomenon occurs in acute ischemic stroke has not been well studied. METHODS AND RESULTS:We analyzed data from patients admitted with ischemic stroke in 1625 hospitals participating in the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke program for the 5-year period between January 2009 and December 2013. We compared acute stroke treatment processes and in-hospitals outcomes among the 4 quarters (first quarter: July-September, last quarter: April-June) of the academic year. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between academic year transition and processes measures. A total of 967 891 patients were included in the study. There was a statistically significant, but modest (<4 minutes or 5 percentage points) difference in distribution of or quality and clinical metrics including door-to-computerized tomography time, door-to-needle time, the proportion of patients with symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage within 36 hours of admission, and the proportion of patients who received defect-free care in stroke performance measures among academic year quarters (P<0.0001). In multivariable analyses, there was no evidence that quarter 1 of the academic year was associated with lower quality of care or worse in-hospital outcomes in teaching and nonteaching hospitals. CONCLUSIONS:We found no evidence of the "July phenomenon" in patients with acute ischemic stroke among hospitals participating in the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke program.
Project description:ObjectiveAlthough end-of-life care in the ICU accounts for a large proportion of health-care costs, few studies have examined the association between costs and satisfaction with care. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of ICU costs with family- and nurse-assessed quality of dying and family satisfaction.MethodsThis was an observational study surveying families and nurses for patients who died in the ICU or within 30 h of transfer from the ICU. A total of 607 patients from two Seattle hospitals were included in the study. Survey data were linked with administrative records to obtain ICU and hospital costs. Regression analyses assessed the association between costs and outcomes assessing satisfaction with care: nurse- and family-assessed Quality of Death and Dying (QODD-1) and Family Satisfaction in the ICU (FS-ICU).ResultsFor family-reported outcomes, patient insurance status was an important modifier of results. For underinsured patients, higher daily ICU costs were significantly associated with higher FS-ICU and QODD-1 (P < .01 and P = .01, respectively); this association was absent for privately insured or Medicare patients (P = .50 and P = .85, QODD-1 and FS-ICU, respectively). However, higher nurse-assessed QODD-1 was significantly associated with lower average daily ICU cost and total hospital cost (P < .01 and P = .05, respectively).ConclusionsFamily-rated satisfaction with care and quality of dying varied depending on insurance status, with underinsured families rating satisfaction with care and quality of dying higher when average daily ICU costs were higher. However, patients with higher costs were assessed by nurses as having a poorer quality of dying. These findings highlight important differences between family and clinician perspectives and the important role of insurance status.
Project description:PURPOSE:Computed tomography perfusion (CTP) imaging in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) suffers from measurement errors due to image noise. The purpose of this study was to investigate if iterative reconstruction (IR) algorithms can be used to improve the diagnostic value of standard-dose CTP in AIS. METHODS:Twenty-three patients with AIS underwent CTP with standardized protocol and dose. Raw data were reconstructed with filtered back projection (FBP) and IR with intensity levels 3, 4, 5. Image quality was objectively (quantitative perfusion values, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR)) and subjectively (overall image quality) assessed. Ischemic core and perfusion mismatch were visually rated. Discriminative power for tissue outcome prediction was determined by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) resulting from the overlap between follow-up infarct lesions and stepwise thresholded CTP maps. RESULTS:With increasing levels of IR, objective image quality (SNR and CNR in white matter and gray matter, elimination of error voxels) and subjective image quality improved. Using IR, mean transit time (MTT) was higher in ischemic lesions, while there was no significant change of cerebral blood volume (CBV) and cerebral blood flow (CBF). Visual assessments of perfusion mismatch changed in 4 patients, while the ischemic core remained constant in all cases. Discriminative power for infarct prediction as represented by AUC was not significantly changed in CBV, but increased in CBF and MTT (mean (95% CI)): 0.72 (0.67-0.76) vs. 0.74 (0.70-0.78) and 0.65 (0.62-0.67) vs 0.67 (0.64-0.70). CONCLUSION:In acute stroke patients, IR improves objective and subjective image quality when applied to standard-dose CTP. This adds to the overall confidence of CTP in acute stroke triage.