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Optimized Management of Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke
Published on: January 18, 2018
Stroke Risk and Antithrombotic Treatment During Follow-up of Patients With Ischemic Stroke and Cortical Superficial
Joan Martí-Fàbregas1, Pol Camps-Renom2, Jonathan G Best2
1From the Department of Neurology (J.M-F., P.C-R., A.R-P., M.G-J., A.M-D., D.G-A., L.P-S., L.P-S.), Neuroradiology Unit (B.M.G-A.), Department of Radiology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation (J.G.B., D.W., C.B., S.B., R.S., D.W.), UCL Stroke Research Centre, University College London Queen Square, Institute of Neurology, UK; Department of Statistical Science (G.A.), University College London, UK; Seoul National University College of Medicine Cerebrovascular Disease Center (K-J.L., H-J.B.); Department of Neurology (J-S.L.), Asan Medical Center University of Ulsan College of Medicine, South Korea; Department of Cerebrovascular Medicine (M.S., M.K., K.T.), National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Centre, Japan; Federation Universitätsmedizin Mannheim (M.G.H.), University of Heidelberg, Germany; Department of Neurology (H.C., E.J.), Translational Neurovascular Centre, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, Lariboisière Hospital, France; Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine and Department of Diagnostic Radiology (D.Y.K.W., H.M., K.K.L.), The University of Hong Kong; Department of Neurology (Y.D.K., T-J.S., J-H.H.), Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Neurology (S.E., T.G.), Medical University of Graz, Austria; Department of Neurology (E.U., D.S.D.), Saglık Bilimleri University, Hamidiye Etfal Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey; Department of Neurology (N.B., E.B.A., H.H., J.A.M.), Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Israel; Department of Radiology and Division of Neurology, Department of Internal Medicine (M.N., J.T., H.H., Y.Y.), Saga University Faculty of Medicine, Japan; Calgary Stroke Program, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Radiology and Community Health Sciences (S.B.C., E.S.), Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Canada; Department of Neurology and Stroke Centre (A.A.P., B.W., D.S., P.A.L., N.P., S.T.E.), University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Switzerland; Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences (R.A-S.S.), School of Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh; Lysholm Department of Neuroradiology and the Neuroradiological Academic Unit, Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation (H.R.J.), University College London Institute of Neurology and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery; Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science (G.Y.H.L.), University of Liverpool, UK; Department of Neurology (M.G., L.P., S.J.), Inselspital, Bern University Hospital and University of Bern, Switzerland; Peninsula Clinical School (C.C.K., T.G.P., V.K.S.), Peninsula Health and Stroke and Ageing Research Group, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia; Department of Neurology (N.C., S.G., F.F.), University Hospital of Würzburg, Germany; Department of Medicine and Therapeutics (T.W.L., Y.O.Y.S., W.C., J.A.), Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Univ Lille (A-M.M., R.B.), Inserm, CHU de Lille. Lille Neuroscience & Cognition, Paris, France; Memory Aging & Cognition Centre (S.H., B.G., C.C.), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore; Department of Neurology (D.N.O.), Istanbul Arel University, Turkey. jmarti@santpau.cat.
Insights
Cortical superficial siderosis (cSS) increases stroke risk in patients with ischemic stroke or TIA. While single antithrombotic treatments are safe, combined therapy with cSS may raise intracranial hemorrhage risk.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Vascular Neurology
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Limited data exist on secondary stroke prevention in patients with ischemic stroke (IS) or transient ischemic attack (TIA) and cortical superficial siderosis (cSS).
- Investigating the association between cSS and future cerebrovascular events is crucial for risk stratification and treatment decisions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between cSS and the risk of future cerebrovascular events in patients with recent IS or TIA.
- To evaluate the benefits and safety of antithrombotic drugs for secondary prevention in this patient group.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of the Microbleeds International Collaborative Network (MICON) database.
- Inclusion of patients with IS or TIA, MRI-assessed cSS, and data on antithrombotic treatments and recurrent cerebrovascular events.
- Calculation of incidence rates and multivariable Cox regression analyses to assess stroke risk.
Main Results:
- cSS was detected in 2.2% of 12,669 patients.
- cSS was associated with an increased risk of any stroke (HR 1.62; p=0.006) compared to non-cSS.
- Patients with cSS on dual antithrombotic therapy showed a significantly higher risk of intracranial hemorrhage (HR 13.26; p=0.001) and any stroke (HR 5.03; p<0.001).
Conclusions:
- Patients with IS/TIA and cSS face an elevated stroke risk.
- Antiplatelet or anticoagulant monotherapy appears safe in patients with cSS.
- Combined antithrombotic therapy in patients with cSS may increase the risk of intracranial hemorrhage and should be used with caution, pending further randomized trials.
Background And Objectives:
In patients with ischemic stroke (IS) or transient ischemic attack (TIA) and cortical superficial siderosis (cSS), there are few data regarding the risk of future cerebrovascular events and also about the benefits and safety of antithrombotic drugs for secondary prevention. We investigated the associations of cSS and stroke risk in patients with recent IS or TIA.
Methods:
We retrospectively analyzed the Microbleeds International Collaborative Network (MICON) database. We selected patients with IS or TIA from cohorts who had MRI-assessed cSS, available data on antithrombotic treatments, recurrent cerebrovascular events (intracranial hemorrhage [ICrH], IS, or any stroke [ICrH or IS]), and mortality. We calculated incidence rates (IRs) and performed univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses.
Results:
Of 12,669 patients (mean age 70.4 ± 12.3 years, 57.3% men), cSS was detected in 273 (2.2%) patients. During a mean follow-up of 24 ± 17 months, IS was more frequent than ICrH in both cSS (IR 57.1 vs 14.6 per 1,000 patient-years) and non-cSS (33.7 vs 6.3 per 1,000 patient-years) groups. Compared with the non-cSS group, cSS was associated with any stroke on multivariable analysis {IR 83 vs 42 per 1,000 patient-years, adjusted hazard ratio [HR] for cSS 1.62 (95% CI: 1.14-2.28; p = 0.006)}. This association was not significant in subgroups of patients treated with antiplatelet drugs (n = 6,554) or with anticoagulants (n = 4,044). Patients with cSS who were treated with both antiplatelet drugs and anticoagulants (n = 1,569) had a higher incidence of ICrH (IR 107.5 vs 4.9 per 1,000 patient-years, adjusted HR 13.26; 95% CI: 2.90-60.63; p = 0.001) and of any stroke (IR 198.8 vs 34.7 per 1,000 patient-years, adjusted HR 5.03; 95% CI: 2.03-12.44; p < 0.001) compared with the non-cSS group.
Discussion:
Patients with IS or TIA with cSS are at increased risk of stroke (ICrH or IS) during follow-up; the risk of IS exceeds that of ICrH for patients receiving antiplatelet or anticoagulant treatment alone, but the risk of ICrH exceeds that of IS in patients receiving both treatments. The findings suggest that either antiplatelet or anticoagulant treatment alone should not be avoided in patients with cSS, but combined antithrombotic therapy might be hazardous. Our findings need to be confirmed by randomized clinical trials.
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