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1. 1 The Stroke Unit &Stroke Investigations Diane Ames
Imperial College, St Mary’s Campus
April 2008
2. 2 Format Stroke ….
Current drivers and background for change
Thrombolysis
London stroke services in future
Stroke investigations
How we manage our patients
3. 3 The drivers!
4. 4 “Faster access to better stroke care” NAO report 2005 Concluded
Treatment was a post-code lottery
Stroke - very expensive and very common
Key - rapid access to specialised services
Delays lead to ? deaths/disability
Recognised the “abandonment” on discharge
Recognised need for higher priority
5. 5 “Emergency response is generally lacking”
6. 6 RCP 2006 Audit Only 54% patients > 50% stay in SU
Too few stroke beds
Delays in transfers (into,through & out)
Few direct admissions (12%)
Delays in CT brain scans
(42% only within 24 hours)
Patients managed on a Stroke unit had better results for all the key indicators
7. 7 Key indicators RCP 2006n=13,625 Screened for swallow disorder < 24 hours
Brain scan < 24 hours
Aspirin within 48hours
PT within 72 hours; OT within 7 days
Weighed, mood assessed
Anti-thrombotics ( AF)
Rehab goals documented
OT home visit (removed this round- 2008)
8. 8
9. 9
10. 10
11. 11 National Strategy for Stroke2007 Awareness
Prevention
Carer involvement
Acting on warnings
Stroke- a medical emergency Stroke Unit quality
Rehabilitation
Community Supports
Workforce issues
Service networks
12. 12 Hyper-acute treatments
13. 13 Emergency stroke pathway Suspect a stroke, ring 999
LAS use pre-assessment tool (FAST)
Pre-alert “hyperacute” receiving hospital
“24/7 thrombolysis service available”
Stroke team available
Immediate scan / decision to treat
Transfer to SU
Stroke networks emerging to channel patients to receiving centres
14. 14
15. 15 Ischaemic penumbra PENUMBRA AREA OF ISCHAEMIC TISSUE SURROUNDING AREA OF CELL DEATH. 50% DETERIOATE WITHIN FIRST FEW HOURS.PENUMBRA AREA OF ISCHAEMIC TISSUE SURROUNDING AREA OF CELL DEATH. 50% DETERIOATE WITHIN FIRST FEW HOURS.
16. 16 Thrombolysis rt PA i/v - on licence in Europe since 2002
Patients meeting inclusion criteria are able to receive treatment < 3 hours of onset of event
( 6 hours IST-3 – on trial 9-5)
24/7 stroke service at Imperial ( SMH & CXH sites)
Highly effective (only 10 people need to be treated to prevent 1 becoming dead or disabled)
Risk of intracerebral / other haemorrhage 1IN 50 FATAL !!1IN 50 FATAL !!
17. 17 Evidence 1. NINDS rt-PA study (NEJM 1995;333(24);1581-7)
Showed improved outcomes but ? risk of ICH
2. 2 major reviews
a) Cochrane (18 trials, 5727 patients, 4 drugs: rtPA, SK, UK, rpUK)
b) rt-PA pooled data (NINDS, ECASS , ATLANTIS)
Cochrane 2003
Significant ? in death & dependency
O.R. 0.8 (95% CI 0.69%-0.93%)
Non Significant excess of deaths O.R 1.13 (0.86-1.48)
‘The data…may justify the use of thrombolytic therapy’
18. 18
19. 19 ICH in SITS-MOST register Obligatory register n= 6482 treated with rtPA
3/12 mortality 11.3% (cf 17.3 % in RCTs)
‘Symptomatic ICH’ = 1.7%(type 2 bleed, ?NIHSS = 4)
‘Fatal ICH’ @ 24 hr = 0.3%(type 2 bleed ? death @ 24 hr)
‘Fatal ICH’ @ 7 days = 2.2%(any bleed ? death @ 7 days)
20. 20 “Mortality rates in first 3 months were
lower in SITS-MOST (11.3%) cf RCTs (17.3%)”
“Functional independence at 3 months was higher in SITS-MOST (54.8%) cf RCTs(50.1%)”
Concluded
21. 21 ‘Alteplase is recommended for the treatment of acute ischaemic stroke’
‘within 3 hours of the onset of stroke symptoms’
‘Clinically and cost effective’
‘Healthcare organisations should ensure they conform to NICE technology appraisals’
22. 22 Urgent CT Brain Scan when… If GCS is reduced
If thrombolysis considered
If on aspirin,other anti-platelet agent
If on warfarin
If history of falls, especially H.I. & alcohol
Fever, meningism, fluctuating conscious level
If uncertain and ?other pathology
Otherwise all scanned <24 hours
23. 23 CT brain scan Will exclude haemorrhage
- Acute infarcts are often NOT seen early
- “normal” scan early does not exclude CI
The diagnosis of stroke is clinical….
Evidence exists for early anti-platelet Rx
Occasionally will identify structural lesions
24. 24
25. 25
26. 26 General stroke management-all Full clinical assessment
Monitor coma scale,T, P, BP ,O2, BM
Rehydrate i/v (or po) after swallow screen
Catheter not routine
Thrombo-prophylaxis (TEDS)
Ideally direct admission
Feed early ( po or n/g)
Pressure relief
27. 27 Medical All assessed by Stroke SpR
Scan & Dopplers Day1
Secondary prevention early
Daily Consultant Neurologist or Stroke Physician
review
Further Investigations
- to clarify deficit/diagnosis
- to identify underlying aetiology
- to manage the comorbidity
- Unusual not to identify a cause
28. 28 Cerebral Infarction Investigations Atherothrombotic 50-60%
RFs : DM, ? BP, ? lipids, PVD, smoker
Cardioembolic 20%
AF, PAF, carotid disease,prosthetic valves,DCM, poor LV,aortic arch, PFO, atrial myxoma
Non-atherothrombotic 10%
Vasculitides,infective incl HIV, syphilitic, recreational drugs
Haematological 5-10%
HbS, thrombophilias,Anti-Phospholipids,LAC, OC pill, HRT
29. 29 Imaging Multi-modal CT
CT perfusion/diffusion imaging
- delineate the penumbra
Multi-modal MRI
MRI with DWI - diagnostic tool
MRI - posterior circulation lesions
MRA - looking at vessels , intra/extracranial - After intracerebral haemorrhage
? Aneurysm,AVM, structural lesion
Carotid Dopplers
-if symptomatic stenosis – CTA/MRA arch
30. 30
31. 31 CTA
32. 32 MRA extra or intra- cerebral and carotid dopplers
33. 33 Cardiovascular Ix
ECG - AF important & common
- Troponins when ECG changes
Echocardiogram
- especially when suspect cardioembolic source
Bubble echo – young/ unexplained
Holter monitor
- PAF, arrthymias common
- PPM insertion not unusual
34. 34 Bloods Routine FBC, Chemistry, Glucose,TFTs, CK
Clotting
Lipids, vasculitic screen,Treponemal serology
Consider
- Troponins, ABGs
Young Strokes- search very hard
Thrombophilia screen incl LAC, Anti phospholipids Homocysteine
Consider
LP, HIV
35. 35 Secondary preventionanti-platelets / anti-coagulate Only after CT scan excludes haemorrhage
Add aspirin 300mg & Dipyridamole 25mg tds
Event on aspirin - add dipyridamole
Event on A&D - start clopidogrel
Aspirin intolerant - clopidogrel
RCP 2004; Esprit; IST;
Usually anti-coagulate for AF @ 2-4 weeks
36. 36 Longer term BP management Usually do not treat aggressively for~ 2 weeks
Good control > important than agent used
Beta -blockers – good for IHD, less beneficial in stroke
Diabetic patients targets lower
Usually use perindopril, indapamide, CCBs
37. 37 Lipids Simvastatin 40mg ( unless CK raised)
- caution in renal failure, some drugs
If known IHD & on atorvastatin
- up-titrate to 40mg
Concurrent ACS & Stroke - atorvastatin
No stroke evidence yet for ezetimibe
38. 38 Diabetes ~20% stroke patients diabetic nationally
Frequently identify new
Insulin by consensus if Blood Glucose > 15
If on metformin- stop few days
Problems with NG feeding/ PEG feeds
HbA1C; renal function; clearance; proteinuria
Careful BP management
39. 39 Intracerebral haemorrhageon warfarin ? risk of prolonged bleeding & ? mortality
33% continue to bleed
Bleeding correlates well with GCS
Needs rigorous reversal of INR
Intensive monitoring
Use multiple agents /haematology advice
Rescan if GCS falls
40. 40 London future stroke services NWT Stroke clinical reference group
Developing standards, pathways
In conjunction with
Cardiac and Stroke Networks
Hub(s) –offering a comprehensive service
Spokes offering acute services ~ 7am-7pm
How many comprehensive services???
41. 41 Comprehensive Stroke CentresUS style Outcomes
Increased use of lytic agents – all routes
Improved complex stroke management
Specific interventions, surgery, ITU facilities, 24/7 availability
Improved outcomes & decreased LOS
AHA recommends
clusters of primary centres closely associated with comprehensive centres
42. 42 Detection -recognition of stroke
Dispatch -call 999 & priority LAS
Delivery -prompt transport & pre-hospital notification
Door - Immediate triage
Data - Assessment, bloods, imaging
Decision - Diagnosis & decision re therapy
Drug - Appropriate drug/other intervention
43. 43 Summary Stroke is a medical emergency
24/7 i/v thrombolysis routine
Clot retrieval & intra-arterial Rx next
Outcomes improved with rapid assessment and treatment on a stroke unit early
Multi professional input is integral
Stringent risk factor management is key