COMPARISON OF HOSPITALIZED ACUTE STROKE PATIENTS' CHARACTERISTICS USING TWO LARGE CENTRAL-EASTERN EUROPEAN DATABASES.

Objectives: Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the European region. In spite of a decreasing trend, stroke related mortality remains higher in Hungary and Romania when compared to the EU average. This might be due to higher incidence, increased severity or even less effective care.

Prestroke alcohol consumption and smoking are not associated with stroke severity, disability at discharge, and case fatality.

Background: Heavy alcohol consumption and smoking are known risk factors for stroke, but their influence on stroke severity and outcome may also be important. We tested if alcohol consumption and smoking relate to initial stroke severity, disability at discharge from hospital, and outcome at 30 days and at 1 year in 1049 patients of the Mures-Uzhgorod-Debrecen database.

Methods: Initial stroke severity was scored by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale.

Etiology of first-ever ischaemic stroke in European young adults: the 15 cities young stroke study.

Background And Purpose: Risk factors for IS in young adults differ between genders and evolve with age, but data on the age- and gender-specific differences by stroke etiology are scare. These features were compared based on individual patient data from 15 European stroke centers.

Methods: Stroke etiology was reported in detail for 3331 patients aged 15-49 years with first-ever IS according to Trial of Org in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST) criteria: large-artery atherosclerosis (LAA), cardioembolism (CE), small-vessel occlusion (SVO), other determined etiology, or undetermined etiology.

Demographic and geographic vascular risk factor differences in European young adults with ischemic stroke: the 15 cities young stroke study.

Background And Purpose: We compared among young patients with ischemic stroke the distribution of vascular risk factors among sex, age groups, and 3 distinct geographic regions in Europe.

Methods: We included patients with first-ever ischemic stroke aged 15 to 49 years from existing hospital- or population-based prospective or consecutive young stroke registries involving 15 cities in 12 countries. Geographic regions were defined as northern (Finland, Norway), central (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, The Netherlands, Switzerland), and southern (Greece, Italy, Turkey) Europe.

Different effect of hyperglycemia on stroke outcome in non-diabetic and diabetic patients--a cohort study.

Objectives: Relationship between hyperglycemia and stroke outcome is unclear, partly due to the small sample size in most studies, and partly due to lack of consensus concerning the cutoff level for hyperglycemia.

Methods: In a cohort study, we investigated whether on-admission hyperglycemia is an independent predictor for 30-day case fatality by analyzing data of 2496 consecutive computed tomography (CT) verified acute ischemic stroke patients (2077 non-diabetic and 419 diabetic) included in the prospective, hospital-based Debrecen Stroke Database. Instead of using an arbitrary cutoff level for hyperglycemia, quartiles of on-admission glucose level were used for Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazard modeling.

The Debrecen Stroke Database: demographic characteristics, risk factors, stroke severity and outcome in 8088 consecutive hospitalised patients with acute cerebrovascular disease.

Background: High stroke mortality in central-eastern European countries might be due to higher stroke incidence, more severe strokes or less effective acute care than in countries with lower mortality rate. Hospital databases usually yield more detailed information on risk factors, stroke severity and short-term outcome than population-based registries.

Patients And Methods: The Debrecen Stroke Database, data of 8088 consecutively hospitalised patients with acute cerebrovascular disease in a single stroke centre in East Hungary between October 1994 and December 2006, is analysed.

Role of hyperlipidemia in atherosclerotic plaque formation in the internal carotid artery.

Purpose: The role of hyperlipidemia in atherosclerotic changes of the carotid artery is controversial. The aims of this retrospective study were to assess (1) the relationship between total serum cholesterol and triglyceride and the grade of internal carotid artery stenosis and (2) whether total serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels are independent risk factors for internal carotid artery atherosclerosis.

Methods: The files of 1,934 acute ischemic stroke patients were investigated retrospectively.

Mannitol use in acute stroke: case fatality at 30 days and 1 year.

Background And Purpose: Mannitol is used worldwide to treat acute stroke, although its efficacy and safety have not been proven by randomized trials.

Methods: In a tricenter, prospective study, we analyzed the 30-day and 1-year case fatality with respect to mannitol treatment status in 805 patients consecutively admitted within 72 hours of stroke onset. Confounding factors were compared between treated and nontreated patients.

The Mureş-Uzhgorod-Debrecen study: a comparison of hospital stroke services in Central-Eastern Europe.

Stroke mortality is extremely high in Central-Eastern European countries. The high rate of risk factors and differences in health care services might be among the factors resulting in high stroke morbidity and mortality in this region. As only few prospectively collected information are available from this region, we decided to evaluate some characteristics of stroke services in neurological departments of a Romanian, a Ukrainian and a Hungarian city in the framework of the Mureş-Uzhgorod-Debrecen comparative epidemiological study.

A population study of stroke in West Ukraine: incidence, stroke services, and 30-day case fatality.

Background And Purpose: According to World Health Organization statistics, Ukraine has extremely high stroke mortality. No population-based prospective studies of stroke incidence have been performed yet in this European country with approximately 50 million inhabitants. High reported rates of stroke mortality in official statistics conflict with some locally published incidence data in Ukraine.

Comparison of cerebral blood flow velocity as measured in preeclamptic, healthy pregnant, and nonpregnant women by transcranial Doppler sonography.

Aim: To test the hypothesis that the middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (MCAV) is altered in preeclamptic pregnant women as compared with healthy pregnant and nonpregnant women.

Methods: Preeclamptic (n = 21) and healthy pregnant (n = 17) as well as healthy nonpregnant (n = 29) women underwent transcranial Doppler MCAV measurements. The mean MCAV values were compared between the different groups.

Basic characteristics of hospital stroke services in Eastern Hungary.

Stroke mortality is extremely high in Central-Eastern European countries. We report basic characteristics of a stroke unit in Eastern Hungary, including age and sex distribution; the proportion of transient ischemic attacks (TIA), ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes; case fatality; application of diagnostic methods; and length of stay for all patients treated with acute cerebrovascular disease over a 12-month period. Records of all patients with acute cerebrovascular disease (n = 522) discharged in 1995 from a stroke unit with a well defined catchment area of 220,000 inhabitants in Eastern Hungary were retrospectively analyzed.

[Carotid atherosclerotic lesions in stroke patients with diabetes mellitus].

The aim of the study was to assess the incidence of atherosclerotic lesions on carotid arteries among diabetic subjects suffering from cerebrovascular accident. A further aim was to investigate the relationship between the severity of the carotid lesion, the stroke subtype and the fatal outcome. One hundred and sixty eight patients treated because of cerebrovascular accident at the Dept.