Role of the physical examination in the determination of etiology of ischemic stroke.

The actual investigation of the body of a patient by the clinician in search for the signs of the disease beginning with the primary vital signs and continues with the careful and attentive observation of the patient. This article reviews the key findings in the physical examination of patients with ischemic stroke that have the potential to indicate the etiology of the infarct and to help to choose the use of ancillary tests. Through a systematic search of articles published in English related to the physical examination of patients with stroke, we identified key findings in the vital signs and classic components of the physical exam (appearance of the patient, auscultation, and eye examination) that have shown clinical significance when determining ischemic stroke etiology.

Endovascular Treatment of Ischemic Stroke in a Developing Country.

Background: There is inequality in access to recent advancements in endovascular treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS), and Mexico is unusually sensitive to such inequality.

Aims: To report the initial experience of the Mexican Endovascular Reperfusion Registry (MERR).

Methods: The MERR is an academic, independent, prospective, multicenter, observational registry of patients treated with endovascular reperfusion techniques in Mexican hospitals.