Background and purpose The role of non-invasive methods in the evaluation of collateral circulation has yet to be defined. We hypothesized that a favorable pattern of leptomeningeal collaterals, as identified by computed tomography angiography (CTA), correlates with improved outcomes. Methods Data from a prospective cohort study at two university based hospitals where CTA was systematically performed in the acute phase of ischemic stroke were analyzed. Patients with complete occlusion of the intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) and/or the middle cerebral artery (MCA-M1 or M2 segments) were selected. Leptomeningeal collateral pattern was graded as a three category ordinal variable (less, equal, or greater than the unaffected contralateral hemisphere). Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to define the independent predictors of good outcome at 6 months (mRS≤2). Results 196 patients were selected. The mean age was 69 ±17 years and the median NIHSS score was 13 (IQR 6-17). In the univariate analysis, age, baseline NIHSS, pre-stroke mRS, ASPECT score, admission blood glucose, history of hypertension, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, site of occlusion, and collateral pattern were predictors of outcome. In the multivariate analysis, age (OR 0.95; 95%CI [0.93-0.98], p=0.001), baseline NIHSS (OR 0.75; [0.69-0.83], p<0.001), pre-stroke mRS (OR 0.41; [0.22-0.76], p=0.01), intravenous r-tPA (OR 4.92; [1.83-13.25], p=0.01), diabetes( OR 0.31; [0.01-0.98], p=0.046) and leptomeningeal collaterals (OR 1.93; [1.06-3.34], p=0.03) were identified as independent predictors of good outcome. Conclusion Consistent with angiographic studies, leptomeningeal collaterals on CTA are also a reliable marker of good outcome in ischemic stroke.

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Background and Purpose-Stroke is the leading cause of death in Brazil. This community-based study assessed lay knowledge about stroke recognition and treatment and risk factors for cerebrovascular diseases and activation of emergency medical services in Brazil. Methods-The study was conducted between July 2004 and December 2005. Subjects were selected from the urban population in transit about public places of 4 major Brazilian cities: São Paulo, Salvador, Fortaleza, and Ribeirão Preto. Trained medical students, residents, and neurologists interviewed subjects using a structured, open-ended questionnaire in Portuguese based on a case presentation of a typical patient with acute stroke at home. Results-Eight hundred fourteen subjects were interviewed during the study period (53.9% women; mean age, 39.2 years; age range, 18 to 80 years). There were 28 different Portuguese terms to name stroke. Twenty-two percent did not recognize any warning signs of stroke. Only 34.6% of subjects answered the correct nationwide emergency telephone number in Brazil (#192). Only 51.4% of subjects would call emergency medical services for a relative with symptoms of stroke. In a multivariate analysis, individuals with higher education called emergency medical services (Pϭ0.038, ORϭ1.5, 95%, CI: 1.02 to 2.2) and knew at least one risk factor for stroke (PϽ0.05, ORϭ2.0, 95% CI: 1.2 to 3.2) more often than those with lower education. Conclusions-Our study discloses alarming lack of knowledge about activation of emergency medical services and availability of acute stroke treatment in Brazil. These findings have implications for public health initiatives in the treatment of stroke and other cardiovascular emergencies. (Stroke. 2008;39:292-296.)

Background and Purpose-Little information exists on the epidemiology and patterns of treatment of patients admitted to Brazilian hospitals with stroke. Our objective was to describe the frequency of risk factors, patterns of management, and outcome of patients admitted with stroke in Fortaleza, the fifth largest city in Brazil. Methods-Data were prospectively collected from consecutive patients admitted to 19 hospitals in Fortaleza with a diagnosis of stroke or transient ischemic attack from June 2009 to October 2010. Results-We evaluated 2407 consecutive patients (mean age, 67.7Ϯ14.4 years; 51.8% females). Ischemic stroke was the most frequent subtype (72.9%) followed by intraparenchymal hemorrhage (15.2%), subarachnoid hemorrhage (6.0%), transient ischemic attack (3%), and undetermined stroke (2.9%). The median time from symptoms onset to hospital admission was 12.9 (3.8 -32.5) hours. Hypertension was the most common risk factor. Only 1.1% of the patients with ischemic stroke received thrombolysis. The median time from hospital admission to neuroimaging was 3.4 (1.2-26.5) hours. In-hospital mortality was 20.9% and the frequency of modified Rankin Scale score Յ2 at discharge was less than 30%. Older age, prestroke disability, and having a depressed level of consciousness at admission were independent predictors of poor outcome; conversely, male gender was a predictor of good outcome. Conclusions-The prevalence of stroke risk factors and clinical presentation in our cohort were similar to previous series.Treatment with thrombolysis and functional independency after a stroke admission were infrequent. We also found long delays in hospital admission and in evaluation with neuroimaging and high in-hospital mortality. (Stroke. 2011;42:3341-3346.)

In ResponseWe would like to thank Heldner et al. for taking an interest on our work and applying the FAST-ED scale to their large patient cohort. Triage for stroke centers will undergo major changes given the recently proven benefit of endovascular approaches in the treatment of large vessel occlusion strokes (LVOS). The FAST-ED scale was designed to aid in the decision to triage patients to primary (PSC) versus comprehensive stroke centers (CSC) in the pre-hospital setting. In STOPStroke (n=727; 33% LVOS), FAST-ED had comparable accuracy to predict LVOS to the NIHSS and higher accuracy than RACE and CPSS (AUC: FAST-ED=0.81 as reference; NIHSS=0.80, p=0.28; RACE=0.77, p=0.02; and CPSS=0.75, p=0.002) 1 . Heldner et al. independently corroborated these findings in the Bernese cohort (n=1085; 60.5% LVOS; AUC: FAST-ED=0.847, NIHSS=0.846, RACE=0.831, CPSSS=0.802) 2 . In comparison to RACE, FAST-ED scores only one point for facial weakness and no points for leg weakness. This lowers the chances of a pure motor stroke (~85% lacunar in etiology) being diagnosed as a LVOS 3 . Unlike RACE, FAST-ED scores up to 2 points for gaze deviation, which is one of the most powerful predictors of LVOS 2, 4 . Unlike CPSSS, FAST-ED evaluates for neglect and thus better detects non-dominant hemisphere LVOS. Unlike RACE and CPSSS, FAST ED separately assesses expressive and receptive aphasia, optimizing topographic cortical representation and consequently LVOS detection.We fully agree with Heldner et al. that clinical severity scales cannot identify LVOS with 100% accuracy and as such cannot replace vascular neuroimaging. However, we believe that

Stroke is the second most common cause of mortality worldwide and the third most common cause of disability. Hypertension is the most prevalent risk factor for stroke. Stroke causes and haemodynamic consequences are heterogeneous which makes the management of blood pressure in stroke patients complex requiring an accurate diagnosis and precise definition of therapeutic goals. In this article, the authors provide an updated review on the management of arterial hypertension to prevent the first episode and the recurrence. They also present a discussion on blood pressure management in hypertensive urgencies and emergencies, especially in the acute phase of hypertensive encephalopathy, ischaemic stroke and haemorrhagic stroke.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to profound changes in the organization of health care systems worldwide. Aims: We sought to measure the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the volumes for mechanical thrombectomy (MT), stroke, and intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) hospitalizations over a 3-month period at the height of the pandemic (March 1 to May 31, 2020) compared with two control 3-month periods (immediately preceding and one year prior). Methods: Retrospective, observational, international study, across 6 continents, 40 countries, and 187 comprehensive stroke centers. The diagnoses were identified by their ICD-10 codes and/or classifications in stroke databases at participating centers. Results: The hospitalization volumes for any stroke, ICH, and MT were 26,699, 4,002, and 5,191 in the 3 months immediately before versus 21,576, 3,540, and 4,533 during the first 3 pandemic months, representing declines of 19.2% (95%CI,-19.7 to -18.7), 11.5% (95%CI,-12.6 to -10.6), and 12.7% (95%CI,-13.6 to -11.8), respectively. The decreases were noted across centers with high, mid, and low COVID-19 hospitalization burden, and also across high, mid, and low volume stroke/MT centers. High-volume COVID-19 centers (-20.5%) had greater declines in MT volumes than mid- (-10.1%) and low-volume (-8.7%) centers (p<0.0001). There was a 1.5% stroke rate across 54,366 COVID-19 hospitalizations. SARS-CoV-2 infection was noted in 3.9% (784/20,250) of all stroke admissions. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a global decline in the volume of overall stroke hospitalizations, MT procedures, and ICH admission volumes. Despite geographic variations, these volume reductions were observed regardless of COVID-19 hospitalization burden and pre-pandemic stroke/MT volumes.