Knowledge Acquisition and Audience Retention in Stroke Education: Results From a Global Study by the World Stroke Organization.

Background: The World Stroke Academy (WSA), the educational platform of the WSO, provides high-quality stroke education to health care professionals worldwide. Understanding the learning needs and preferences of WSA members is crucial for effective knowledge translation. This study aims to (1) assess demographics and professional backgrounds of WSA members, (2) identify preferences in knowledge acquisition, and (3) evaluate audience retention during WSA webinars.

Sleep Apnea and Stroke: A Narrative Review.

Topic Importance: Stroke is the second-leading cause of death worldwide. OSA is an independent risk factor for stroke and is associated with multiple vascular risk factors. Poststroke OSA is prevalent and closely linked with various stroke subtypes, including cardioembolic stroke and cerebral small vessel disease.

Strengthening oropharyngeal muscles as an approach to treat post-stroke obstructive sleep apnea: A feasibility randomised controlled trial.

This study aimed to determine the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) evaluating oropharyngeal exercise (OPE) intervention as an alternative therapy for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients with stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA). Despite the high prevalence of OSA in this population, the standard therapy, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), is often poorly tolerated. Thirty stroke/TIA patients with OSA unable to tolerate CPAP were randomly assigned to an oropharyngeal exercise or sham exercise protocol.

Sex Differences in Obstructive Sleep Apnea after Stroke.

Background And Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is prevalent after stroke and associated with recurrent stroke, prolonged hospitalization, and decreased functional recovery. Sex differences in post-stroke OSA remain underexplored. The objective of this study was to evaluate sex differences in functional outcomes, stroke and OSA severity, and clinical manifestations of OSA in stroke patients with OSA.

Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with markers of cerebral small vessel disease in a dose-response manner: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Cerebral small vessel disease manifests on neuroimaging as white matter hyperintensities, lacunes, cerebral microbleeds, perivascular spaces or subcortical infarcts and is a major contributor to dementia, stroke and incident death. We aimed to determine whether obstructive sleep apnea severity is associated cerebral small vessel disease. A systematic search was conducted for studies examining the association between obstructive sleep apnea and cerebral small vessel disease markers.

Trials in Sleep Apnea and Stroke: Learning From the Past to Direct Future Approaches.

Few randomized controlled trials have evaluated the effectiveness of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in reducing recurrent vascular events and mortality in poststroke obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). To date, results have been mixed, most studies were underpowered and definitive conclusions are not available. Using lessons learned from prior negative trials in stroke, we reappraise prior randomized controlled trials that examined the use of CPAP in treating poststroke OSA and propose the following considerations: (1) Intervention-based changes, such as ensuring that patients are using CPAP for at least 4 hours per night (eg, through use of improvements in CPAP technology that make it easier for patients to use), as well as considering alternative treatment strategies for poststroke OSA; (2) Population-based changes (ie, including stroke patients with severe and symptomatic OSA and CPAP noncompliers); and (3) Changes to timing of intervention and follow-up (ie, early initiation of CPAP therapy within the first 48 hours of stroke and long-term follow-up calculated in accordance with sample size to ensure adequate power).

Using Standardized Tools to Characterize Adult Day Program Populations: Implications for Future Research and Clinical Practice.

Objectives: To demonstrate the usefulness of primary data collection using clinician-rated and self-rated standardized measures to describe adult day program (ADP) populations and address programming issues such as identifying members at risk of dropping out.

Setting And Participants: One ADP in London, Ontario, and 2 ADPs in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A total of 223 community-dwelling older adults were recruited across the 3 different programs.

Embolic Stroke of Undetermined Source and Sleep Disorders.

Background and Purpose- Compared with other causes of ischemic stroke, the mechanism of action of embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS) remains unclear, with previous literature suggesting that ESUS may be due to an undetected cardioembolic source. This study aimed to improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of ESUS through current knowledge of sleep disorders. Methods- Patients were included in this study if they sustained an ischemic stroke and completed either polysomnography or a home sleep apnea test.

Evaluating Patients' Perception of the Risk of Acute Care Visits During Systemic Therapy for Cancer.

Purpose: Unplanned emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations are common during systemic cancer therapy. To determine how patients with cancer trade off treatment benefit with risk of experiencing an ED visit or hospitalization when deciding about systemic therapy, we undertook a discrete choice experiment.

Materials And Methods: Patients with breast, colorectal, or head and neck cancer contemplating, receiving, or having previously received systemic therapy were presented with 10 choice tasks (5 in the curative and 5 in the palliative setting) that varied on 3 attributes: benefit, risk of ED visit, and risk of hospitalization.

Quality improvement: an assessment of participation and attitudes of medical oncologists.

Purpose: Although quality improvement (QI) is an integral part of cancer care, there are few QI publications in the medical oncology literature. We examined the prevailing attitudes of medical oncologists toward QI and causes for the low QI publication rate in the medical oncology literature.

Methods: Using a modified Dillman method, we distributed a 13-question online survey to medical oncologists across Canada asking about their attitudes toward and involvement in QI and perceived barriers to publishing QI studies.