Background-Onset-to-reperfusion time has been reported to be associated with clinical prognosis. However, its impact on mortality remained to be assessed. Using a collaborative pooled analysis, we examined whether early mortality after successful endovascular treatment is time dependent. Methods and Results-In a collaborative pooled analysis of 7 endovascular databases, we assessed the impact of onsetto-reperfusion time in large-artery occlusion (internal carotid artery or middle cerebral artery) on outcomes. Successful reperfusion was defined as complete or partial restoration of blood flow within 8 hours from symptom onset. Primary outcome was 90-day all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes included 90-day favorable outcome (modified Rankin Scale score, 0-2), 90-day excellent outcome (modified Rankin Scale score, 0-1), and occurrence of any intracerebral hemorrhage within 24 to 36 hours after treatment. A total of 480 cases with successful reperfusion (median time, 285 minutes) contributed to the present pooled analysis (120 with internal carotid artery occlusion and 360 with isolated middle cerebral artery occlusion). Increasing onset-to-reperfusion time was associated with an increased rate of mortality and intracerebral hemorrhage and with a decreased rate of favorable and excellent outcomes, without heterogeneity across studies. The adjusted odds ratio for each 30-minute time increase was 1.21 (95% confidence interval, 1.09-1.34; P<0.001) for mortality, 0.79 (95% confidence interval, 0.72-0.87) for favorable outcome, 0.78 (95% confidence interval, 0.71-0.86) for excellent outcome, and 1.21 (95% confidence interval, 1.10-1.33) for intracerebral hemorrhage. Conclusion-Onset-to-reperfusion time affects mortality and favorable outcome and should be considered the main goal in acute stroke patient management. (Circulation. 2013;127:1980-1985 13 A pooled analysis of the 2 IMS trials 3 and a single-center experience study 2 have previously reported the impact of ORT on good clinical outcome, but none has studied associations with 90-day mortality. The methodologies (study period, treatment specificities, baseline characteristics, and outcomes) of the 7 studies are summarized in Table 1. Eligibility, Data Collection, and DefinitionsPatients were eligible for inclusion in this study if they (1) had a largeartery occlusion (intracranial internal carotid artery or middle cerebral artery, M1 or M2) treated by an endovascular approach (thrombolysis or mechanical endovascular therapy) with or without prior use of intravenous thrombolysis; (2) had a successful angiographic reperfusion within 8 hours from symptom onset, defined as a complete or partial restoration of blood flow (Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction grade 2-3) 14 ; and (3) had available information on vital status. Data from individual patients were collected on a standardized form with predefined variables and were compiled and analyzed at the coordinating center (University Bichat Hospital, Paris). The following variables were collected: age; sex; initia...

Objective To determine the predictive value of discharge destination as a surrogate for defining unfavorable outcome at 3- and 12-months poststroke. Design Analysis of the prospectively collected data from a randomized, placebo-controlled trial in patients with ischemic stroke presenting within 3 hours of symptom onset. Setting Post hoc analysis of patients recruited in a clinical trial. Participants Patients (N=530) discharged alive from the hospital after ischemic stroke. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Positive and negative predictive value and likelihood ratios of discharge destination for unfavorable outcome at 3- and 12-months poststroke defined by a Modified Rankin Scale (MRS) score of 2 to 6, 3 to 6, or 4 to 6. A likelihood ratio indicates how many times more (or less) likely a particular discharge destination is seen in patients with an unfavorable outcome compared with those without unfavorable outcome. Results The positive predictive value of nursing home and rehabilitation facility discharges was highest for unfavorable outcome defined by an MRS score of 2 to 6 (95%) and rehabilitation facility (89%) at 3-months poststroke, respectively. The positive predictive value of rehabilitation facility/nursing home (90%) was also highest for unfavorable outcomes defined by an MRS score of 2 to 6 compared with those defined by MRS scores of 3 to 6 (79%) and 4 to 6 (57%). The positive likelihood ratio was highest for nursing home discharges (13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.1– 41) followed by rehabilitation facility discharges for unfavorable outcome defined by an MRS score of 2 to 6 at 3-months poststroke (5.3; 95% CI, 3.5–7.9). The negative likelihood ratio was the highest for home discharge for unfavorable outcome defined by an MRS score of 2 to 6 (4.5; 95% CI, 3.4 – 6.1). A similar pattern was observed with unfavorable outcome defined using various thresholds at 12 months. Conclusions Discharge destination can provide high predictive values and likelihood ratios for death and disability at 3-months poststroke, as defined by an MRS of score of 2 to 6.

Background: An increasing number of cases of Moyamoya disease have been reported in the Japanese and US literature. We performed this study to quantify the rise in the prevalence of Moyamoya disease and to study the unique epidemiological and clinical features in the USA that may explain a change in incidence. Methods: We analyzed data derived from patients entered in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample between 2005 and 2008, using ICD-9 codes for Moyamoya disease. Data including patient age, gender, ethnicity, secondary diagnosis, medical complications, and hospital costs were obtained. Results: From 2005 to 2008 in the USA, there were an estimated 7,473 patients admitted with a primary or secondary diagnosis of Moyamoya disease. Patients admitted with Moyamoya disease were most frequently women and Caucasian. Overall, ischemic stroke was the most common reason for admission. Hemorrhagic stroke was more frequent in adults compared with children, 18.1 versus 1.5% (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The number of patients identified and admitted with Moyamoya disease has risen dramatically in the last decade. This study can lead to a better understanding of the disease pattern and healthcare consequences in the USA and suggests that pathophysiologic differences in Moyamoya disease may exist.

Careful consideration should be exercised when emergently intubating acute ischemic stroke patients for endovascular treatment, because the rate of death and disability appears to be high. This increased rate is not explained by higher rates of subsequent aspiration pneumonia.

Background and Purpose As several new devices for mechanical thrombectomy have become available, the outcomes of patients undergoing endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke are expected to improve in the United States. We performed this analysis to evaluate trends in utilization of endovascular treatment and associated rates of death and disability among acute ischemic stroke patients over a six year period, including further assessment within age strata. Methods We obtained data for patients admitted to hospitals in the United States from 2004 to 2009 with a primary diagnosis of ischemic stroke using a large national database. We determined the rate and pattern of utilization, and associated in-hospital outcomes of endovascular treatment among ischemic stroke patients and further analyzed trends within age strata. Outcomes were classified as minimal disability, moderate to severe disability, and death based on discharge disposition and compared between two time periods: 2004-2007 (post MERCI) and 2008-2009 (post Penumbra) approvals Results Of the 3,292,842 patients admitted with ischemic stroke, 72,342 (2.19%) received intravenous thrombolytic treatment, and 13,799 (0.41%) underwent endovascular treatment. There was a 6 fold increase in patients who underwent endovascular treatment (0.1% of ischemic strokes in 2004 vs. 0.6% in 2009, p < 0.001), with the patients >85 years old having the lowest rate of utilization (0.2%). The rates of intracranial hemorrhage remained unchanged throughout the 6 years. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for age, gender, presence of hypertension, congestive heart failure, renal failure, and secondary intracranial hemorrhages, there was no difference in the rate of minimal disability between the two study intervals (2004-2007 versus 2008-2009), odds ratio (OR) 0.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.7-1.04, p=0.11). Mortality decreased while moderate to severe disability increased for patients treated during 2008-2009; OR 0.7(95% CI 0.6-0.9, p=0.007) and OR of 1.4 (95% CI 1.2-1.7, p=0.0002), respectively. Conclusion There has been a significant increase in the proportion of acute ischemic stroke patients receiving endovascular treatment over the 6 years and reduction in in-hospital mortality. Our results highlight the need to implement endovascular techniques in a balanced manner across various age groups that also result in the reduction of disability in addition to mortality.

This cross-sectional study explored the extent and impact of mobile device-based Sleep Time-Related Information and Communication Technology (STRICT) use among American adolescents (N ¼ 3139, 49.3% female, mean age ¼ 13.3 years). Nearly 62% used STRICT after bedtime, 56.7% texted/tweeted/messaged in bed, and 20.8% awoke to texts. STRICT use was associated with insomnia, daytime sleepiness, eveningness, academic underperformance, later bedtimes and shorter sleep duration. Moderation analysis demonstrated that the association between STRICT use and insomnia increased with age, the association between STRICT use and daytime sleepiness decreased with age, and the association between STRICT use and shorter sleep duration decreased with age and was stronger in girls. Insomnia and daytime sleepiness partially mediated the relationship between STRICT use and academic underperformance. Our results illustrate the adverse interactions between adolescent STRICT use and sleep, with deleterious effects on daytime functioning. These worrisome findings suggest that placing reasonable limitations on adolescent STRICT use may be appropriate.

To determine the outcomes related to thrombolytic treatment of an acute ischemic stroke secondary to an arterial dissection in a large national cohort.

Background and Purpose— To provide a national assessment of thrombolytic administration using drip-and-ship treatment paradigm. Methods— Patients treated with the drip-and-ship paradigm among all acute ischemic stroke patients treated with thrombolytic treatment were identified within the Nationwide Inpatient Sample. Thrombolytic utilization, patterns of referral, comparative in-hospital outcomes, and hospitalization charges related to drip-and-ship paradigm were determined. All the in-hospital outcomes were analyzed after adjusting for potential confounders using multivariate analysis. Results— Of the 22 243 ischemic stroke patients who received thrombolytic treatment, 4474 patients (17%) were treated using drip-and-ship paradigm. Of these 4474 patients, 81% were referred to urban teaching hospitals for additional care, and 7% of them received follow-up endovascular treatment. States with a higher proportion of patients treated using the drip-and-ship paradigm had higher rates of overall thrombolytic utilization (5.4% versus 3.3%; P <0.001). The rate of home discharge/self-care was significantly higher in patients treated with drip-and-ship paradigm compared with those who received thrombolytics through primary emergency department arrival in the multivariate analysis (OR, 1.198; 95% CI, 1.019–1.409; P =0.0286). Conclusions— One of every 6 thrombolytic-treated patients in United States is treated using drip-and-ship paradigm. States with the highest proportion of drip-and-ship cases were also the states with the highest thrombolytic utilization.