Objective To evaluate the reporting quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on acupuncture for acute ischemic stroke. Methods Six databases including The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, Issue 4, 2005), MEDLINE (1966 to December 2005), EMbase (1984 to December 2005), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI, 1994 to December 2005), China Biomedicine Database disc (CBMdisc, 1980 to December 2005), VIP (a full text issues database of China, 1989 to December 2005) were searched systematically. Handsearch for further references was conducted. Language was limited to Chinese and English. We identified 74 RCTs that used acupuncture as an intervention and assessed the quality of these reports against the Consolidated Standards for Reporting of Trials (CONSORT) statement and Standards for Reporting Interventions in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA).Results In regard to the items in the CONSORT statement, 54 (73%) RCTs described baseline demographic and clinical characteristics in each group. Twenty-six (35%) mentioned the method of generating the random sequence, with 4 (5%) using a computer allocation. Only 6 (8%) RCTs had adequate allocation concealment, with 5 RCTs using sealed opaque envelopes and 1 RCT using centralized computer allocation. Only 8 (11%) RCTs used blinding, including 5 described as double-blind. Four (5%) RCTs reported the sample size calculation and 5 (7%) RCTs reported that an intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis. In regard to the items in STRICTA , only 4 (5%) RCTs reported the numbers of needles inserted. In 35 (47%) RCTs the needle type was reported, but only 26 (35%) mentioned the depths of insertion. Only 1 (1%) RCT mentioned the length of clinical experience and 6 (8%) RCTs reported the background of the acupuncture practitioners, but none stated the duration of their training.Conclusion The reporting quality of RCTs of acupuncture for acute ischemic stroke was low. The CONSORT statement and STRICTA should be used to standardize the reporting of RCTs of acupuncture.
Objective To investigate the relationship between systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) and early neurological deterioration (END) and 3-month prognosis in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods Patients with acute ischemic stroke treated at West China Hospital of Sichuan University and Deyang People’s Hospital between April 2020 and October 2020 were collected. Clinical data were collected using a unified case form and outcomes were followed up for 3 months. According to the poor prognosis, the patients were divided into END group and non-END group. The multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relationship of SIRI, END and 3-month prognosis. We drew receiver operating characteristic curve to evaluate the value of related factors in predicting the occurrence of END and poor prognosis after 3 months. Results A total of 242 patients were included, of which 47 (19.42%) were in the END group. There were statistically significant differences between the two groups in National Institutes of Health stroke Scale (NIHSS) score on admission, hypertension, creatinine, urea nitrogen, neutrophils count, lymphocyte count, neutrophil count/lymphocyte count ratio (NLR), lymphocyte count/monocyte count ratio, platelet count/lymphocyte count ratio, complications (besides cerebral edema) and SIRI (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that NIHSS score on admission, hypertension, SIRI and NLR were independent risk factors for END (P<0.05). SIRI had better predictive value for the occurrence of END than NLR (P<0.05). Compared with the non-END group, the patients in the END group had worse prognosis at 3-month [44.7%(21/47) vs. 17.4% (34/195), P<0.05]. NIHSS score on admission had predictive value for clinical prognosis of acute ischemic stroke patients at 3-month. Conclusion SIRI is an independent risk factor for END in patients with acute ischemic stroke, and there is no independent correlation with the 3-month prognosis.
ObjectiveTo explore the relevance of an increase in neutrophil count and early neurological deterioration (END) after intravenous thrombolysis in patients with acute ischemic stroke.MethodsA retrospective study was conducted on the patients who received thrombolysis treatment of alteplase within 4.5 hours after onset between January 2017 and November 2018. Based on the existence of END, the patients were divided into the END group and the non-END group. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression, and receiver operating characteristic curves were used to analyze the relevances between END and the indexes such as neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) after thrombolysis. Paired sample t test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used to compare the changes of neutrophil and lymphocyte before and after thrombolysis.ResultsA total of 187 patients were included, including 48 in the END group and 139 in the non-END group. Before thrombolysis, the differences of total protein (t=2.130, P=0.035) and albumin (t=2.777, P=0.007) between the two groups were statistically significant, but the differences in other clinical indexes between the two groups were not statistically significant (P>0.05). After thrombolysis, white blood cell count, neutrophil count, NLR, fibrinase degradation product, baseline and change of National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score, proportion of cardiogenic embolism, degree of responsible vascular stenosis and anterior circulation cortical infarction site were all higher in the END group than those in the non-END group (P<0.05). The total protein, albumin, lymphocyte count and prealbumin in the END group were lower than those in the non-END group (P<0.05). Neutrophil in the END group increased significantly (Z=−2.314, P=0.021) after thrombolysis. Neutrophil count [odds ratio=1.288, 95% confidence interval (1.069, 1.552)] was one of the independent influencing factors of venous thrombolysis END, and the specificity was the highest (the sensitivity was 62.5%, and the specificity was 71.9%).ConclusionsAfter thrombolysis, elevated neutrophil count has some relevance to END. Dynamic monitoring on neutrophil count after intravenous thrombolysis treatment can predict the occurrence of END.
ObjectivesTo systematically review the efficacy and safety of nalmefene hydrochloride for acute cerebral infarction.MethodsPubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CBM, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on nalmefene hydrochloride for acute cerebral infarction from inception to February 21st, 2018. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies, then, meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 8 RCTs involving 1 038 patients were included. The results of meta-analyses showed that, compared to the routine treatment group, the nalmefene hydrochloride group was significantly associated with an increased reduction in total effective rate (RR=1.14, 95%CI 1.04 to 1.23, P=0.003), GCS (MD=1.30, 95%CI 0.66 to 1.94, P<0.0001), patient satisfaction (RR=1.26, 95%CI 1.03 to 1.55, P=0.03), cerebral blood flow (MD=5.00, 95%CI 3.81 to 6.19, P<0.05), and cerebral blood volume (MD=0.28, 95%CI 0.23 to 0.32, P<0.05). It was also significantly associated with an reduction of NIHSS, CSS, level of inflammatory factors after treatment in 14 days, level of MMP-9 and mean transit time of contrast medium (P<0.05). However, no significant association was observed between two groups in level of inflammatory factors after treatment in 20 days. For safety outcomes, no significant association was found between two groups in mortality, dizziness, and nausea and vomiting.ConclusionsThe current evidence indicates that the nalmefene hydrochloride can be used to treat acute cerebral infarction based on routine treatment of acute cerebral infarction, and the safety is relatively good. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are required to verify above conclusion.
Objective To assess the efficacy and safety of human urinary kallidinogenase injection (HUK) in treating patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods Through adopting Cochrane systematic review methods, the relevant materials were retrieved by electronically and manually searching databases and claimed from pharmaceutical factories, so as to collect the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about HUK for the patients with acute ischemic stroke, which were searched by the end of October 2010. The quality of each trial was assessed by two reviewers independently, and meta-analysis was conducted by using RevMan 5.0.2 software. Results Twenty-four trials involving 2 433 patients were included, of which 2 were multi-center placebo controlled trials, and the other 22 were all non-placebo trials. Only 2 trials (459 cases) reported the death or dependence at the end of 3-month follow-up. In those trials, HUK reduced death or dependency comparing to the control group (RR=0.69, 95%CI 0.55 to 0.86). Twenty trials (2 117 patients) reported the proportion of patients with marked neurological improvement after finishing the 7 to 21 days treatment. Meta-analysis showed the HUK group had more neurological improvement than the control group, with significant differences (RR=1.56, 95%CI 1.44 to 1.70). Fifteen trials reported adverse events, of which the transient hypotension was commonly seen (1.5%-5.1%). Non-fatal intracerebral hemorrhage was detected in 7 patients in 3 trials, but the difference between the HUK group (6 patients, 1.2%) and the control group (1 patient, 0.4%) was not significant (RR=1.82, 95%CI 0.34 to 9.61). Deaths occurred in both HUK group (2 patients, 0.4%) and the control group (1 patient, 1.1%) in 2 trials, without significant differences (RR=0.6, 95%CI 0.09 to 3.92). No trial assessed quality of life. Conclusion Available evidence suggests that HUK injection reduces neurological impairment after acute ischemic stroke and improves long-term outcomes, though a few patients suffer from transient hypotension. Further high-quality, large-scale RCTs are needed to confirm these results.
Objective To investigate the association of serum albumin and relevant composite indicators with malignant brain edema after acute ischemic stroke. Methods We screened patients with acute ischemic stroke admitted to the Department of Neurology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University between January and December 2022. The case group consisted of patients who developed malignant brain edema within 7 days of admission, while the control group consisted of patients who did not develop malignant brain edema within 7 days of admission. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to explore the association of serum albumin and relevant composite indicators with malignant brain edema after acute ischemic stroke. Results Finally, 428 patients were included, aged 70.00 (58.00, 82.00) years, with females accounting for 40.9% (n=175). The time from onset to admission was 10.00 (4.00, 24.00) hours. Forty-three patients (10.0%) developed malignant brain edema and were classified as the case group, and their onset time of malignant brain edema was 34.00 (22.50, 56.50) hours after the onset of the disease. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the increase in the score of the baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores [odds ratio (OR)=1.167], the combination of diabetes (OR=5.525), the treatment of thrombectomy (OR=23.875), and the neutrophil percentage-to-albumin ratio higher than the median (OR=3.806) were associated with the increased risk of malignant brain edema (P<0.05), and the successful reperfusion after thrombectomy (OR=0.120) was associated with the reduced risk of malignant brain edema (P<0.05). Conclusion A higher percentage of serum neutrophil percentage-to-albumin ratio within 24 hours of onset in patients with acute ischemic stroke is associated with an increased risk of malignant brain edema within 7 days of admission.
Acute ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke. Hemorrhagic transformation is one of its serious complications, which may lead to severe neurological deterioration and poor prognosis. The occurrence of hemorrhagic transformation is mainly related to the inflammatory mechanism after infarction, blood-brain barrier injury, ischemia-reperfusion injury and abnormal coagulation function. Identification of early predictors of hemorrhagic transformation can help reduce its incidence and severity. However, the mechanism of hemorrhagic transformation is complex, and there is currently no unified standard for its prediction. This article aims to review the related mechanisms and early predictors of hemorrhagic transformation after stroke, in order to provide a reference for early identification and prevention.
ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate the association between red cell distribution width (RDW) and prognosis of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) undergoing intravenous thrombolytic therapy.MethodsWe searched the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese Biomedical Literature Service System, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang database, and CQVIP database to identify eligible studies evaluating the relation between RDW and prognosis in AIS patients receiving intravenous thrombolysis from the establishment of databases to May 2021. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to evaluate the literature quality, and RevMan 5.3 software was used to process the data. The relationship between RDW and prognosis in AIS patients treated with intravenous thrombolytic therapy was analyzed using odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).ResultsFive studies with a total of 1 269 participants were included into this meta-analysis. All the studies were retrospective case-control studies. Because of statistical heterogeneity (I2=59%, P=0.04), random-effects model was chosen. Meta-analysis result showed that among AIS patients who received intravenous thrombolysis, those with elevated RDW before thrombolysis were more likely to have poor prognosis than those without elevated RDW [OR=1.50, 95%CI (1.14, 1.98), P=0.004].ConclusionElevated RDW is associated with adverse outcome of AIS patients treated with thrombolysis, and may be a risk factor for poor prognosis in patients treated with thrombolytic therapy.
Objective To investigate whether there is an off-hours effect on the endovascular treatment (EVT) process for patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) after emergency admission to the hospital. Methods We retrospectively analyzed AIS patients who were admitted to the West China Hospital of Sichuan University on the stroke green channel between September 2019 and August 2023 and planned to perform emergency EVT. The patients were divided into working-hour and off-hour groups according to their admission time. The clinical information, door-to-puncture time (DPT), door-to-head/neck imaging time (DIT) and door-to-blood test time (DBT) of the two groups patients were compared, and subgroup analysis was conducted according to whether they arrived at the hospital at night, before and after the guideline update, and whether they were in the coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic period. Results A total of 586 AIS patients with large vessel occlusion were included, including 220 patients admitted during working hours and 336 patients admitted during off-working hours. There was no statistically significant difference in the basic information and EVT process time between patients admitted during working hours and patients admitted during off-working hours (P>0.05). Subgroup analysis showed that in patients admitted during off-working hours, there was no statistically significant difference in the basic information and EVT process time between patients arrived at the hospital at night and patients did not arrive at the hospital at night (P>0.05). Before and after the guideline updated, there was no statistically significant difference in the basic information and EVT process time between patients admitted during working hours and patients admitted during off-working hours (P>0.05). No matter whether it is in the coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic period, there was no statistically significant difference in the basic information and EVT process time between patients admitted during working hours and patients admitted during off-working hours (P>0.05). Conclusions There is no off-hours effect on the EVT process time after AIS patients arrive at the hospital. In the future, more stroke centers of different levels are needed to further explore the impact of off-hours effect on emergency diagnosis and treatment of AIS patients.
Objectives To assess the efficacy and safety of dl-3-butylphthalide for patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods We collected randomized controlled trials, which compared dl-3-butylphthalide agents with placebo or open control in patients with acute ischaemic stroke, by searching the electronic bibliographic databases, scanning references listed in articles and handsearching journals. Meta-analysis was conducted based on the methods recommended by the Cochrane Collaboration. Results Twenty-one trials involving 2 123 patients were included, of which 2 were placebo-controlled and 19 were open-label controlled. Meta-analysis of 10 trials (n=958), in which neurological deficits were assessed by CSS, suggested that there were significant differences favoring butylphthalide in the mean change of neurological deficits’ score during the treatment period [MD=2.30, 95%CI (1.57, 3.03)]. Meta-analysis of 6 trials (n=590), in which neurological deficits were assessed by NIHSS, also favored butylphthalide [MD=2.06, 95%CI (0.65, 3.46)]. Adverse events (AEs) were reported in 13 trials. Gastrointestinal discomfort (1.7%~8%) and abnormal liver function including abnormal ALT (1.4%~17.5%) and abnormal AST (1.9%~8.82%) were the two most common AEs. However, no severe adverse events (SAEs) were reported. Numbers of dead and dependent patients at the end of followup (at least three months) were not reported in the 21 included trials. Quality of life was not assessed in any of the trials. Conclusion Dl-3-butylphthalide can improve the neurological function after acute ischemic stroke and appears to be safe. However, further study is needed to confirm its effects for lowering rates of death and dependency.