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Vascular Death (vascular + death)
Selected AbstractsElevated serum urate concentration independently predicts poor outcome following stroke in patients with diabetesDIABETES/METABOLISM: RESEARCH AND REVIEWS, Issue 1 2006Edward J. Newman Abstract Background Type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for stroke and confers increased risk of poor outcome and further vascular events following stroke. Hyperuricaemia occurs commonly in patients with type 2 diabetes, but its significance as a predictor of outcome following stroke is uncertain. We sought to investigate the prognostic significance of elevated serum urate concentration in diabetic subjects following stroke. Methods We studied a cohort of type 2 diabetes patients presenting to our unit with computed tomography-confirmed acute stroke. Fasting blood samples were drawn within 24 h of admission for urate concentration and standard battery of biochemistry and hematological tests. Information on age, stroke type, prior hypertension, smoking status, resolution time of symptoms and National Institutes of Health Stroke Score was collated. The main outcome event was time to myocardial infarction, recurrent stroke or vascular death, as defined in the CAPRIE trial. Stepwise proportional hazards regression was used to estimate the effect of the above variables on event-free survival following stroke. Results One hundred and forty patients were studied. Median follow-up duration was 974 days (IQR 163 to 1830 days). Sixty-four patients suffered an outcome event. Urate levels of greater than 0.42 mmol/L (p < 0.001) and an increasing NIHSS score (p < 0.001) independently predicted increased likelihood of suffering an event. Conclusion Elevated urate concentration is significantly and independently associated with increased risk of future vascular events in diabetic stroke patients. Further studies to elucidate the mechanism of this observation are required. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Long-term follow-up of patients with asymptomatic occlusion of the internal carotid artery with good and impaired cerebral vasomotor reactivityEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 10 2010I. Kimiagar Background:, Cerebral hemodynamic status might be prognostic for either the symptomatic or asymptomatic course of carotid occlusive disease. It is determined by evaluating cerebral vasomotor reactivity (VMR). We assessed VMR in asymptomatic patients with total occlusion of the internal carotid artery (ICA) and followed them to evaluate the role of impaired VMR in predicting ischaemic stroke (IS). Methods:, Thirty-five patients (21 men, mean age ± SD 68 ± 7.5 years) with unilateral asymptomatic ICA occlusion were studied by transcranial Doppler and the Diamox test (intravenous 1.0 g acetazolamide) and followed for 48 months or until reaching the end-points of IS, transient ischaemic attack, or vascular death. VMR% was evaluated by recording the percent differences in peak systolic blood flow velocities in each middle cerebral artery at baseline and after Diamox administration. Results:, Based on VMR% calculations, 14 (40%) patients had good VMRs and 21 (60%) had impaired VMRs. The global annual risk of ipsilateral ischaemic events was 5.7%. The annual ipsilateral ischaemic event risk was 1.8% in patients with good VMRs, whilst it was 7.1% in patients with impaired VMRs. An impaired VMR was significantly correlated with ipsilateral IS (Kaplan,Meier log rank statistic, P = 0.04). Conclusions:, Our results support the value of VMR assessment for identifying asymptomatic patients with carotid occlusion who belong to a high-risk subgroup for IS. New trials using extracranial-to-intracranial bypass surgery in patients with asymptomatic ICA occlusion and impaired VMRs are warranted. [source] Platelet aggregation is significantly associated with cardiovascular mortality in elderly patientsGERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 4 2004Kyoko Kin Background: The relationship between cardiovascular mortality and platelet function in elderly patients remains unclear. Methods: The outcomes for 347 consecutive patients aged 60 or older (mean age 77.5 years; 161 men and 186 women) who were treated without antiplatelet drugs on registration, were retrospectively studied after platelet aggregatability tests. The grading curve (GC) type, as an index of platelet aggregatability, was determined with an aggregometer and adenosine-5,-diphosphate as an agonist. Patients were classified into three groups according to GC type: Group I with suppressed aggregation (n = 40); Group II, normal aggregation (n = 208); and Group III, increased aggregation (n = 99). The mean follow-up was 3.9 years. Results: There were three deaths in Group I, 33 in Group II, and 30 in Group III. The mean annual mortality rate was 2.1% in Group I, 4.0% in Group II and 7.5% in Group III. Although the most common cause of death was pneumonia in all three groups, the annual mortality rates due to vascular events were 0.7% in Group I, 0.6% in Group II and 4.2% in Group III. Cox proportional hazards models for vascular death yielded a hazard ratio of 1.5 in the increased GC type. Conclusion: These findings indicated that elderly patients with accelerated aggregation had higher mortality rates due to vascular events. Therefore, accelerated aggregation in the elderly suggested not only the progress of arteriosclerosis, but indications of antiplatelet therapy to prevent vascular events. [source] Yield of systematic transcranial doppler in patients with transient ischemic attackANNALS OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 1 2010Elena Meseguer MD Objective Urgent evaluation and treatment of transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients in a dedicated TIA clinic may reduce the 90-day stroke risk by 80%. ABCD2 (Age, Blood pressure, Clinical features, Duration, Diabetes) score and magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities help to identify patients at high risk of stroke. Our aim was to determine whether the use of transcranial Doppler (TCD) examination on arrival at the TIA clinic yields additional information that facilitates the identification of patients at high risk of stroke recurrence. Methods Between January 2003 and December 2007, 1,881 patients were admitted to SOS-TIA clinic (a TIA clinic with around-the-clock access). Clinical and vascular assessment included TCD performed by a neurologist immediately after admission. Stroke prevention measures were initiated on arrival, in accordance with guidelines. All patients were followed for 1 year after presentation to the SOS-TIA clinic. Results A total of 1,823 TCD examinations were performed within 4 hours of admission. Intracranial narrowing or occlusion was found in 8.8% of patients, and was independently associated with age, hypertension, and diabetes. After 1-year follow-up on best preventive therapy, the incidence of recurrent vascular events (intracranial revascularization for TIA recurrence, stroke, myocardial infarction, and vascular death combined) was 7.0% in patients with intracranial narrowing or occlusion and 2.4% in those without (log-rank, p = 0.007). The hazard ratio of combined outcome for the presence of intracranial narrowing or occlusion was 2.29 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.15-4.56; p = 0.02) in multivariate analysis including age, gender, hypertension, and diabetes, and was 2.50 (95%CI, 1.24,5.05; p = 0.01) in multivariate analysis including ABCD2 score ,4. Interpretation Immediate TCD examination on arrival at the TIA clinic is feasible and could help to identify patients at high risk of vascular events recurrence. This study supports a systematic intracranial vascular examination in the initial management of TIA. ANN NEUROL 2010;68:9,17 [source] Latest news and product developmentsPRESCRIBER, Issue 5 2008Article first published online: 3 APR 200 Newer antidepressants no better than placebo? A new meta-analysis suggests that newer antidepressants are no superior to placebo in most patients with depression , the exception being those with very severe depression, who can expect a small benefit. Writing in the online-only open access journal PLoS Medicine (5:e45.doi:10.1371/ journal.pmed.0050045), researchers from Hull and the US analysed published and unpublished trials submitted to the Food and Drug Administration in marketing applications for fluoxetine, paroxetine, venlafaxine (Efexor) and nefazodone (no longer available). Using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) score as an endpoint, meta-analysis of 35 trials involving 5133 patients and lasting six to eight weeks showed that mean HRSD score improved by 9.6 points with drug treatment and 7.8 with placebo. The authors say the difference of 1.8 was statistically significant but below the criterion for clinical significance (3.0) set by NICE in its clinical guideline on depression. A review of the study by the NHS Knowledge Service (www.nhs.uk) points out that it omits trials published after the drugs were licensed (1999) and those not sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry. It did not include any patients with severe depression and only one trial in patients with moderate depression. An earlier US study of data submitted to the FDA (N Eng J Med 2008;358:25260) showed that published trials of antidepressants were more likely to be positive (37/38) than unpublished ones (3/25). Further, FDA analysts concluded that 51 per cent of trials (published and unpublished) demonstrated positive findings compared with 94 per cent of those that were published. Audit reveals variations in hospital psoriasis care There are unacceptably large variations in the quality of care for patients with psoriasis in UK hospitals, a report by the British Association of Dermatologists and the Royal College of Physicians reveals. The audit of 100 hospital units found that 39 per cent restricted access to biological therapies because of cost, and over one-third of pharmacies could not supply ,specials' such as topical coal tar preparations. More positively, the units are adequately resourced to provide timely communication with GPs. RCGP responds to Public Accounts Committee The Royal College of General Practitioners has agreed with the Commons Public Accounts Committee that drug package labelling should include the cost of the medication. The suggestion was made by the Committee in its report Prescribing Costs in Primary Care. While recognising the importance of generic prescribing, the RCGP cautions against frequent medication switches because it may unsettle patients. ,Any changes must be carried out for sound clinical reasons with good communication between GPs and their patients,' it adds. Statins for patients with kidney disease? Statins reduce cardiovascular risk in people with chronic kidney disease, a new study suggests, but their effects on renal function remain unclear (BMJ 2008; published online doi: 10.1136/bmj. 39472.580984.AE). The meta-analysis of 50 trials involving a total of 30 144 patients found that statins reduced lipids and cardiovascular events regardless of the severity of kidney disease. However, all-cause mortality was unaffected and, although proteinuria improved slightly, there was no change in the rate of decline of glomerular filtration rate. An accompanying editorial (BMJ 2008; published online doi:10.1136/ bmj.39483.665139.80) suggests that the indications for statin therapy to reduce cardiovascular risk in patients with chronic kidney disease should be the same as for those with normal renal function. New NICE guidance New clinical guidelines from NICE (see New from NICE, pages 14,15) include the diagnosis and management of irritable bowel syndrome in adults in primary care, the care and management of osteoarthritis in adults, and the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. In a public health guideline on smoking cessation services, NICE endorses the use of nicotine replacement patches for 12,17 year olds. Suspect additives in children's medicines The Food Commission (www.foodcomm.org.uk) has drawn attention to the presence in children's medicines of food additives it says are linked with hyperactivity. The Commission, a national nonprofit organisation campaigning for ,the right to safe, wholesome food', says that seven common additives (including tartrazine, sodium benzoate and Ponceau 4R) are associated with hyperactivity in susceptible children. Checking the SPCs, it found that 28 of 70 children's medicines , including formulations of paracetamol, ibuprofen, amoxicillin, erythromycin and codeine phosphate throat linctus , contain at least one suspect additive. Digoxin may increase mortality in AF patients An observational study has suggested that digoxin may increase deaths in patients with atrial fibrillation (Heart 2008;94:191,6). The study was a planned subgroup analysis of a trial evaluating anticoagulant therapy in 7329 patients with atrial fibrillation. Of these, 53 per cent were treated with digoxin. Mortality was significantly higher among digoxin users than nonusers (4.22 vs 2.66 per cent per year); myocardial infarction and other vascular deaths (but not stroke, systemic embolic episodes and major bleeding events) were significantly more frequent with digoxin. Poor communications cause readmission Elderly hospital patients are often discharged with inadequate information or arrangements for care, causing almost three-quarters to be readmitted within a week, say investigators from Nottingham (Qual Safety Health Care 2008;17:71,5). Retrospective review of records for 108 consecutive patients aged over 75 found that readmission was related to medication in 38 per cent and, of these, 61 per cent were considered avoidable. Almost two-thirds had no discharge letter or were readmitted before the letter was typed; two-thirds of discharge letters had incomplete documentation of medication changes. Copyright © 2008 Wiley Interface Ltd [source] Is there a prognostic role for C-reactive protein in ischemic stroke?ACTA NEUROLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 3 2010G. Corso Corso G, Bottacchi E, Brusa A, Di Benedetto M, Giardini G, Lia C, Reggiani M, Veronese Morosini M. Is there a prognostic role for C-reactive protein in ischemic stroke? Acta Neurol Scand: 122: 209,216. © 2009 The Authors Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Munksgaard. Objectives,,, We investigated the relationship between C-reactive protein (CRP)-values in the acute phase of stroke and the risk of further fatal and non-fatal ischemic events. Materials and methods,,, We analysed 462 consecutive incident ischemic strokes. Patients were divided into two subgroups on the basis of a CRP cut-off level of 9 mg/l. Primary end points were any new vascular fatal and non-fatal event recorded during the follow-up period. Results,,, During a follow-up of 2.27 years, in 132 patients occurred a primary end point. Patients with CRP values ,9 mg/l had more frequently primary end point. The hazard ratio (HR) for cardiovascular events was 3.59; 1.93 for cerebrovascular events; 7.43 for vascular deaths and 5.78 for death from any cause. Cox proportional hazard multivariate analysis identified CRP values ,9 (HR = 4.19, 95% CI: 1.85,9.50, P = 0.001), the lack of secondary prevention therapy at discharge (HR = 4.35, 95% CI: 1.87,10.1, P = 0.001), age >70 years (HR = 3.09, 95% CI: 1.04,9.24, P = 0.04) as independent predictors of fatal events. Conclusions,,, CRP levels ,9 mg/l, evaluated in incident ischemic stroke within 24 h, predict a higher risk of further ischemic events and mortality. [source] | ||||||||||