Publications by authors named "El-Ghanem M"

Background: Early neurological deterioration (END) and recurrence of vessel blockage frequently complicate intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Several studies have indicated the potential effectiveness of the early initiation (within < 24 h) of antiplatelet therapy (APT) after IVT. However, conflicting results have been reported by other studies.

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Article Synopsis
  • Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) access for acute ischemic stroke varies greatly across countries, prompting the need for a scoring system to evaluate and improve treatment accessibility worldwide.
  • A systematic review and a modified Delphi method were used to identify key attributes affecting MT access, culminating in a final score of 0-36 based on 12 consensus attributes selected by international experts.
  • The MT access score serves as a pioneering tool to identify barriers to MT access, aiming to enhance stroke care and outcomes globally by guiding public health interventions.
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Introduction: Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) has changed the standard of care for patients presenting with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). The window of treatment has significantly increased the number of patients who would benefit from intervention and operators may be confronted with patients harboring preexistent neurological disorders. Still, the epidemiology of patients with AIS and neurological disorders has not been established.

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Background And Importance: Neurointervention is a very competitive specialty in the United States due to the limited number of training spots and the larger pool of applicants. The training standards are continuously updated to ensure solid training experiences. Factors affecting candidate(s) selection have not been fully established yet.

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Background And Objectives: Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) are prone to symptomatic neurologic complications. Previous studies reported accrual of neural injury starting at early age, even without having symptomatic neurologic events. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and risk factors of abnormal neurologic findings in patients with SCD with no history of major symptomatic neurologic events.

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Background And Purpose: Tenecteplase is the thrombolytic drug of choice for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) as it has unique pharmacologic properties, along with results demonstrating its non-inferiority compared to alteplase. However, there are contradictory data concerning the risk of intracranial hemorrhage. The purpose of the study was to report the rate and patterns of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) in AIS patients after thrombolysis with tenecteplase compared to alteplase.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study aimed to assess how cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) affect outcomes for stroke patients undergoing endovascular thrombectomy (EVT), focusing on functional independence and safety.
  • Using a systematic review approach, researchers analyzed four studies with 1,514 patients and found that the presence of CMBs significantly reduced the chances of achieving positive functional outcomes after EVT.
  • However, CMBs had no effect on successful revascularization rates, mortality, or the occurrence of various hemorrhagic complications, indicating a specific impact of CMBs on functional recovery rather than overall safety.
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Background: One of the defining narratives of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the acceptance and distribution of vaccine. To compare the outcomes of COVID-19 positive vaccinated and unvaccinated stroke patients.

Methods: This is a single-center retrospective study of COVID-19-vaccinated and unvaccinated stroke patients between April 2020 and March 2022.

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Article Synopsis
  • Mechanical thrombectomy (MT)
  • is the standard treatment for large vessel occlusion (LVO), and its effectiveness might be influenced by whether it's combined with intravenous thrombolysis (IVT).
  • A comprehensive meta-analysis
  • involving seven clinical trials with 2317 patients found no significant differences in outcomes like successful recanalization, functional independence, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, or mortality between the two treatment approaches.
  • The conclusion
  • indicates that current evidence doesn't favor MT combined with IVT over MT alone for LVO, although more research is required to make better comparisons between the methods.
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Acute ischemic stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Treatment goals remain focused on restoring blood flow to compromised areas. However, a major concern arises after reperfusion occurs.

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Ruptured cerebral aneurysms can cause significant morbidity and mortality. Endoluminal devices to treat aneurysms such as the Pipeline™ Flex Embolization Device with Shield Technology (PFES) (Medtronic, Dublin, Ireland) integrate phosphorylcholine on the surface of the device in order to reduce platelet adherence that causes periprocedural thromboembolic events and subsequent long-term intrastent stenosis. In addition to the Shield Technology, patients are commonly placed on dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) for six months to reduce thromboembolic events and subsequent long-term intrastent stenosis.

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Background: Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), often used to evaluate degree of heart failure, has been implicated in fluid dysregulation and inflammation in critically-ill patients. Twenty to 30% of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) will develop some degree of neurogenic stress cardiomyopathy (NSC) and in turn elevation of BNP levels. We sought to explore the association between BNP levels and development of delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) in patients with aSAH.

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Background And Purpose: Historically, overall outcomes for patients with high-grade subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) have been poor. Generally, between physicians, either reluctance to treat, or selectivity in treating such patients has been the paradigm. Recent studies have shown that early and aggressive care leads to significant improvement in survival rates and favorable outcomes of grade V SAH patients.

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Background And Purpose: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is associated with hypercoagulability. We sought to evaluate the demographic and clinical characteristics of cerebral venous thrombosis among patients hospitalized for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at 6 tertiary care centers in the New York City metropolitan area.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective multicenter cohort study of 13,500 consecutive patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized between March 1 and May 30, 2020.

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Background And Purpose: Embolization of the middle meningeal artery for treatment of refractory or recurrent chronic subdural hematomas has gained momentum during the past few years. Little has been reported on the use of the -BCA liquid embolic system for middle meningeal artery embolization. We present the technical feasibility of using diluted -BCA for middle meningeal artery embolization.

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Background: Carotid cavernous fistulas (CCFs) are pathologic connections between the carotid arteries and the cavernous sinus and have been classically treated with endovascular coil embolization, although flow diverters have been used for treatment successfully multiple times. The aim of this study is to systematically review the literature for efficacy of flow diverters in treating CCFs.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted using the PRISMA guidelines.

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Background: Conventional understanding of obesity demonstrates negative consequences for overall health, whereas more modern studies have found that it can provide certain advantages. The current literature on the effect of body mass index (BMI) in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is similarly inconsistent.

Methods: cohort of 406 patients with SAH were retrospectively reviewed and stratified into 3 BMI categories: normal weight, 18.

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Cerebral autosomal recessive arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CARASIL) is clinically characterized by early-onset dementia, stroke, spondylosis deformans, and alopecia. In CARASIL cases, brain magnetic resonance imaging reveals severe white matter hyperintensities (WMHs), lacunar infarctions, and microbleeds. CARASIL is caused by a homozygous mutation in ().

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Background: Currently, there are no large-scale studies in the neurointerventional literature comparing safety between transradial (TRA) and transfemoral (TFA) approaches for flow diversion procedures. This study aims to assess complication rates in a large multicenter registry for TRA versus TFA flow diversion.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed flow diversion cases for cerebral aneurysms from 14 institutions from 2010 to 2019.

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Background: Traditionally, patients undergoing acute ischemic strokes were candidates for mechanical thrombectomy if they were within the 6-h window from onset of symptoms. This timeframe would exclude many patient populations, such as wake-up strokes. However, the most recent clinical trials, DAWN and DEFUSE3, have expanded the window of endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke patients to within 24 h from symptom onset.

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Background: Flow-diverting stents (FDS) have revolutionized the endovascular management of unruptured, complex, wide-necked, and giant aneurysms. There is no consensus on management of complications associated with the placement of these devices. This review focuses on the management of complications of FDS for the treatment of intracranial aneurysms.

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Orthognathic surgeries such as Le Fort I are widely used in clinical practice. Postoperative internal maxillary artery pseudoaneurysm is a very rare complication, which can lead to significant postoperative bleeding. In this article, we report a case of early postoperative bleeding secondary to pseudoaneurysm following Le Fort I surgery with a novel endovascular treatment approach.

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Background: Intrathecal (IT), intraventricular (IVt), and intracisternal administration of nicardipine deliver treatment directly into the central nervous system. This route of drug delivery is being investigated as a potential treatment of vasospasm following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH).

Objective: The authors reviewed the existing literature regarding the direct administration of nicardipine into the intracranial space for the treatment of vasospasm following aSAH.

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: Standard management strategies for lowering intracranial pressure (ICP) in traumatic brain injury has been well-studied, but the use of lesser known interventions for ICP in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) remains elusive. Searches were performed in PubMed and EBSCO Host to identify best available evidence for evaluation and management of medically refractory ICP in SAH. The role of standard management strategies such as head elevation, hyperventilation, mannitol and hypertonic saline as well as lesser known management such as sodium bicarbonate, indomethacin, tromethamine, decompressive craniectomy, decompressive laparotomy, hypothermia, and barbiturate coma are reviewed.

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