The quality of acute stroke units on a nation-wide level: the Austrian Stroke Registry for acute stroke units

Concepts for stroke units that cover the acute phase vary. Therefore, the network of acute stroke units that is being set up in Austria in a uniform way is of general interest. This nationwide network has been established in accordance to evidence-based recommendations and prespecified criteria for available resources. The location for such a unit follows a maximum of 90-min isochrones (transport time) to the hospital. The quality of the network is currently documented and the results are reported. A nationwide stroke registry was prospectively performed on 15 stroke units that were already functional in this network. The aim was to document the quality performance of Austrian stroke units, focusing on rapid admissions, ready availability of investigations and therapies performed. Outcome measures were Barthel scale, Rankin score and percentages of complications. Between August 1998 and December 2000, 2,313 patients with ischemic stroke or with primary intracerebral hemorrhage admitted to an Austrian stroke unit within 24 h after onset of symptoms were prospectively included. Forty-three percent of the patients had a moderate or severe stroke. Fifty-seven percent of all patients were admitted to the stroke unit within 3 h after the onset of symptoms. Twenty-seven percent of these patients were brought in by ambulance accompanied by an emergency physician. Two percent of patients were admitted by helicopter. Fifty-four percent of patients had their first brain imaging within 30 min after admission, another 26% within 3 h. Intravenous thrombolysis was performed in 4.1% of patients. The overall stroke-unit mortality was about 6.8% and mortality at 3 months was 12.9%. The outcome at 3 months showed a modified Rankin Scale score of 0 or 1 in 47% of patients, denoting none or mild impairment. This network of acute stroke units is highly efficient in terms of rapid admissions, short intrahospital delays, as well as rapid use of readily available investigations. Stroke units seem to be well accepted by the general public and the medical community because our data show that all types of strokes are treated in Austrian stroke units, including severe strokes. The total number of concurrently treated acute strokes in other institutions across Austria is not known and no formal comparison with other systems of hospitalized care was undertaken, therefore further research is necessary.     

Pancreas and kidney transplantation: the San Raffaele Hospital (Milan, Italy) experience

Results of 33 simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplantations performed at the San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy are presented. In 26 cases segmental neoprene duct-injected grafts were transplanted and in seven cases, duodenopancreatic bladder-drained grafts. Five-year patient, kidney and pancreas survival were respectively, 89%,72% and 58%. Five-year survival in patients with technically successful pancreas transplants was 73%. Thrombosis occured in 20% of cases. Mortality was 6% and overall morbidity 76%. Surgical complications were present in 51% of cases.     

Neurologic outcome after heart transplantation in Chagas' disease

Objective - To evaluate the neurologic morbidity after orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT), we examined consecutive Chagas' (Ch) and non-Chagas' (NCh) patients, before and after surgery. Material and methods - We undertook neurological and neuropsychological evaluations in Ch and NCh patients with end-stage cardiac failure, from September 1993 to September 1995. Results - Of 10 Ch patients (mean age=33.6 years; 7 male; mean follow-up=10.8 months) and 13 NCh patients (mean age=50.9 years; 12 male; mean follow-up=15 months) 3 died (rejection and sepsis) without neurologic symptoms. Neurologic complications occurred in 4 Ch and 5 NCh patients. Two Ch patients had skin and myocardial Chagas' reactivation successfully treated, without CNS involvement. NPS performance and return to work rates were similar in both groups. Conclusions - Although Ch patients are potentially at a higher risk of Trypanosoma cruzi reactivation, in addition to all known neurologic complications of OHT, early neurologic complications detected in this sample were similar in Ch and NCh patients and could not be specifically related to Chagas' disease.     

Major complications of functional endoscopic sinus surgery

The results of a postal questionnaire indicate an exponential rise in the practice of functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) in the UK and a major complication rate of 0.23%. Cerebrospinal fluid leak was the most common serious complication accounting for 24 of the 36 reports.     

Relative risks of ventriculostomy infection and morbidity

Summary Ventricular catheter placement is a common procedure for the management of increased intracranial pressure. Hypotheses regarding the etiology of infection of catheters center on two alternative assumptions: 1) contamination leading to infection occurs at the time of catheter insertion, implying that catheter duration has minimal effect on infection risk; and 2) infection of catheters derives from catheter contamination after insertion, suggesting that duration of catheter use may significantly affect infection risk.We have studied the relative complication rate of ventricular catheter insertions using a retrospective approach (n=161 patients and 253 catheter insertion procedures). The overall infection rate was 4.1%, but the daily infection hazard increased exponentially with time, to a maximum daily rate of 10.3% by day 6 of catheter insertion. This increasing risk appears most consistent with the second hypothesis. The risk of non-infectious complications was 5.6%, including hemorrhagic occurrences and misplacement severe enough to require a new catheter insertion. The daily hazard of infection approximately equalled the non-infectious risk of routine catheter replacement by day 5.Additional prospective data on the daily risk of CSF infection and the appropriateness of antibiotic prophylaxis either at the time of ventricular catheter insertion or continued through the catheter's-presence may be required to both definitively identify which hypothesis of infection risk is correct and whether antibiotics can significantly ameliorate this risk.     

An Appraisal of Different Cardiac Risk Reduction Strategies in Vascular Surgery Patients

OBJECTIVES: to summarize existing evidence regarding the benefits and the risks of all available interventional and medical means aimed at cardiac risk reduction in patients undergoing vascular surgery. DESIGN: review of the literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS: a critical review of all studies examining the impact of various prophylactic cardiac maneuvers on perioperative outcome following vascular surgery was performed. Overall mortality, cardiac mortality and myocardial infarction rate were used as the outcome measures. RESULTS: coronary artery bypass grafting is associated with a 60% decrease in perioperative mortality in patients undergoing vascular surgery, but in most of the cases this decrease does not outweigh the combined risk of the cardiac and the subsequent noncardiac vascular procedure. Data supporting the cardioprotective effect of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty in the perioperative setting are insufficient. beta-blockade has been shown to decrease perioperative mortality and cardiac morbidity in both high-risk (strong evidence) and low-risk (weak evidence) patients. CONCLUSIONS: coronary revascularization is rarely indicated to simply get the patient through vascular surgery and should be reserved for patients who would need it irrespective of the scheduled vascular procedure. Among all available pharmacological agents, including beta-blockers, alpha-agonists, calcium channel blockers and nitrates, only beta-blockers have been proven to reduce the cardiac risk of vascular surgery.     

Pseudodissection of the coronary artery: A variation caused by interventional tools

During PTCA immediate decisions often must be made on the basis of a less than optimum data set. We present a combination of factors which produce an incorrect perception of a coronary artery dissection. This potential must be understood by the interventionalist to avoid misdiagnosis and inappropriate therapeutic maneuvers. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Risk factors and obstetric complications associated with macrosomia.

OBJECTIVE: Macrosomia is associated with adverse maternal outcomes. The objective of this study was to characterize the epidemiology of macrosomia and related maternal complications. METHOD: Live births (146,526) were identified between 1995 and 1999 in the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program's Northern California Region (KPMCP NCR) database. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed for risk factors and complications associated with macrosomia (birth weight >4500 g). RESULT: Male infant sex, multiparity, maternal age 30-40, white race, diabetes, and gestational age >41 weeks were associated with macrosomia (p<0.001). In bivariate and multivariate analyses, macrosomia was associated with higher rates of cesarean birth, chorioamnionitis, shoulder dystocia, fourth-degree perineal lacerations, postpartum hemorrhage, and prolonged hospital stay (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Macrosomia was associated with adverse maternal outcomes in this cohort. More research is needed to determine how to prevent complications related to excessive birth weight.     

Skilled birth attendant competence: an initial assessment in four countries, and implications for the Safe Motherhood movement.

OBJECTIVES: Percentage of deliveries assisted by a skilled birth attendant (SBA) has become a proxy indicator for reducing maternal mortality in developing countries, but there is little data on SBA competence. Our objective was to evaluate the competence of health professionals who typically attend hospital and clinic-based births in Benin, Ecuador, Jamaica, and Rwanda. Methods: We measured competence against World Health Organization's (WHO) Integrated Management of Pregnancy and Childbirth guidelines. To evaluate knowledge, we used a 49-question multiple-choice test covering seven clinical areas. To evaluate skill, we had participants perform five different procedures on anatomical models. The 166 participants came from facilities at all levels of care in their respective countries. Results: On average, providers answered 55.8% of the knowledge questions correctly and performed 48.2% of the skills steps correctly. Scores differed somewhat by country, provider type, and subtopic. Conclusion: A wide gap exists between current evidence-based standards and current levels of provider competence.