[Acute therapy of stroke]

In recent years, organized basic care and the use of thrombolysis have been significantly effective in improving the acute stroke therapy especially for the ischemic stroke subtype. Combining the efforts for the basic care of stroke patients in the setting of the so-called stroke-units is the goal for a qualified therapy. Main parts in the basic care algorhythm are: optimization of the cerebral perfusion, maintenance of an initial high blood pressure, best oxygen supply, reduction of an increased body temperature and antiinfectious treatment, reduction in the rate of complications (like deep vein thrombosis, pneumonia, falls etc.) and the early physiotherapeutic therapy. Thrombolysis is restricted to selected patients with infarctions of the middle cerebral artery with symptoms starting not longer than three hours before treatment, without hemorrhage in CCT and fulfilling the strict in- and exclusion criteriae established by the recent multicenter trials. The use of rt-PA (0.9 mg/kg body weight) is recommended. Local fibrinolysis is used in patients suffering from basilar artery thrombosis. The use of other recanalizing techniques like PTA or stenting is yet still experimental in acute stroke patients. Neuroprotective agents which were proven in clinical trials are still not available. In recent years therapy with hemodilution was widely used, nowadays the intravenous application of fluids with hemodilutive properties is restricted to patients with reduced cardiac output and macroangiopathy to maintain or to improve cerebral perfusion. Early intravenous anticoagulation with heparin is defined as secondary prevention and not as therapeutical intervention.