Presence of the hyperintense acute reperfusion marker on MRI after mechanical thrombectomy for large vessel occlusion is associated with worse early neurological recovery.

Background: Mechanical thrombectomy has become the accepted treatment for large vessel occlusion in acute ischemic stroke. Unfortunately, a large cohort of patients do not achieve functional independence with treatment, even though the results are more robust than with medical management. The hyperintense acute reperfusion marker (HARM) on MRI is an indication of the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier and reperfusion injury.

Severe hemiparesis as a prehospital tool to triage stroke severity: a pilot study to assess diagnostic accuracy and treatment times.

Introduction: With the publication of the recent trials showing the tremendous benefits of mechanical thrombectomy, opportunities exist to refine prehospital processes to identify patients with larger stroke syndromes.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed consecutive patients who were brought via scene flight from rural parts of the region to our institution, from December 1, 2014 to June 5, 2015, with severe hemiparesis or hemiplegia. We assessed the accuracy of the diagnosis of stroke and the number of patients requiring endovascular therapy.

CODE FAST: a quality improvement initiative to reduce door-to-needle times.

Background: Rapid delivery of IV tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) in qualifying patients leads to better clinical outcomes. The American Heart Association has reduced target door-to-needle (DTN) times from 60 to 45 min in the hopes of continued process improvements across institutions.

Objective: To start a quality improvement project called CODE FAST in order to reduce DTN times at our institution.

Socio-demographic influences on epilepsy outcomes in an inner-city population.

Purpose: Previous studies show anti-epileptic drug compliance and seizure control in people with epilepsy (PWE) to be lower among low-income groups and African-Americans. We examined how socio-demographic factors influence seizure control in an inner-city population.

Methods: The clinic records of 193 PWE were analyzed.

Contrast letter acuity as a measure of visual dysfunction in patients with Friedreich ataxia.

Background: Friedreich ataxia is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting afferent cerebellar pathways and other neuronal systems, including afferent visual pathways. A systematic clinical outcome measure for examination of visual dysfunction in Friedreich ataxia has not been identified. We sought to identify a simple, reliable method for assessing clinical and subclinical visual dysfunction in patients with Friedreich ataxia.