SUMMARY:A case of presumed anticoagulant induced hemorrhage into infarction is presented along with a retrospective study of 110 cases of cerebral embolus.An accurate recommendation for the timing of anticoagulation following cerebral embolism hinges on balancing the risk of hemorrhage into infarction against the benefits of early treatment attributed to preventing recurrent embolism. It is felt that the present literature, concepts of pathogenesis and experimental data provide insufficient information to make absolute clinical decisions. The available evidence implies that the risk of further embolic events is three to four times that of hemorrhage into infarction, yet additional randomized prospective studies and better experimental models are needed to establish a valid treatment plan. It may be possible to distinguish separate mechanisms underlying early diffuse hemorrhage into infarction from sudden delayed massive hematoma formation.
Cardiopulmonary arrest is a test of the brain's tolerance to global ischemia. New insights into the pathophysiology of global ischemia have led to the potential use of early prophylactic anticonvulsants, hypothermia, barbiturate coma, glucose manipulations, calcium-blocking agents, and hemodilution. A wide spectrum of neurologic sequelae may follow global ischemia, ranging from brain death, vegetative states, and impairment of higher intellectual function to syndromes of amnesia and cortical blindness, post-anoxic myoclonus, delayed leukoencephalopathy, and spinal stroke. The distinctive features of these sequelae and their pathophysiologic aspects are discussed. Special attention is given to brain death and prognostication.
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