Implementation Science: March 11, 2014 Background Quality improvement collaboratives (QICs) continue to be widely used, yet evidence for their effectiveness is equivocal. We sought to explain what happened in Stroke 90:10, a QIC designed to improve stroke care in 24 hospitals in the North West of England. Our study drew in part on the literature on […]
STROKEAHA: April 1, 2014 Background and Purpose—The results of previous studies suggest that early goal-directed fluid therapy (EGDT) reduces delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, but the effects of EGDT on clinical outcomes are still unclear. This study aimed to determine whether EGDT improves outcomes compared with standard less-invasive hemodynamic therapy. Methods—This study included […]
STR: March 27, 2014 Background and Purpose—The purpose of this statement is to delineate basic expectations regarding primary palliative care competencies and skills to be considered, learned, and practiced by providers and healthcare services across hospitals and community settings when caring for patients and families with stroke. Methods—Members of the writing group were appointed by the […]
STROKEAHA: March 25, 2014 Background and Purpose—Previous work that predated the availability of the safer stent-retriever devices has suggested that general anesthesia (GA) may have a negative impact on outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke undergoing endovascular therapy. Methods—We reviewed demographic, clinical, procedural (GA versus local anesthesia [LA], etc), and site-adjudicated angiographic and clinical outcomes […]
STROKEAHA: March 25, 2014 Background and Purpose—Optimizing prehospital stroke care is important because effective treatments for acute stroke require a narrow therapeutic time window. We developed a smartphone-assisted prehospital medical information system (SPMIS) to facilitate research on prehospital stroke care. Methods—Prehospital medical information was input into the SPMIS application installed on smartphones by emergency medical staff, […]
STROKEAHA: March 25, 2014 Background and Purpose—Unruptured intracranial aneurysm repair is the most commonly performed procedure for the prevention of hemorrhagic stroke. Despite efforts to regionalize care in high-volume centers, overall results have improved little. This study aims to determine the effectiveness in improving outcomes of previous efforts to regionalize unruptured intracranial aneurysm repair to […]
J Am Coll Cardiol: 4/1/14 A Science Advisory From the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease, hypertension, and heart failure, along with stroke, continue to be leading causes of death in the United States (1,). Hypertension currently affects nearly 78 million∗ […]
CIRCULATIONAHA: 3/11/14 In the late 1970s, Gruentzig’s groundbreaking reports on a series of successfully performed coronary angioplasties created the field of endovascular medicine, setting the precedent for the Food and Drug Administration’s 510(k) approval of the procedure in 1981.2 Over the next decade, the number of angioplasties performed in the United States grew exponentially from 1000 procedures […]
BMC: 3/6/14 Background Communication and swallowing disorders are a common consequence of stroke. Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have been created to assist health professionals to put research evidence into clinical practice and can improve stroke care outcomes. However, CPGs are often not successfully implemented in clinical practice and research is needed to explore the factors […]
AHA: 2/25/14 The medical profession should play a central role in evaluating evidence related to drugs, devices, and procedures for detection, management, and prevention of disease. When properly applied, expert analysis of available data on the benefits and risks of these therapies and procedures can improve the quality of care, optimize patient outcomes, and favorably affect […]
