Publications by authors named "Rolf Blauenfeldt"

Article Synopsis
  • * Researchers collected pre-stroke and 6 months post-stroke PA data from 523 patients using the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE), considering various clinical and socioeconomic predictors to analyze changes using statistical models.
  • * While half of the least active stroke patients improved their PA levels after the event, 20% dropped to the lowest activity quartile, with socioeconomic status being the strongest predictor. Overall, prediction models showed only moderate effectiveness in forecasting PA
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The TENSION trial evaluated the long-term safety and effectiveness of endovascular thrombectomy for patients with ischemic stroke and large infarcts, demonstrating favorable outcomes at 90 days, with a follow-up extending to 12 months.
  • - Conducted across various hospitals in Europe and Canada, the trial involved patients aged 18 and older with acute ischemic strokes caused by large vessel occlusions, comparing results between those receiving thrombectomy plus medical care versus medical care alone.
  • - Out of 253 enrolled patients, results indicated significant insights into functional outcomes, quality of life, and mental health aspects like anxiety and depression, although the trial concluded early due to promising efficacy in the treatment group.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Hypertension and cerebral amyloid angiopathy are common causes of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), but they don't usually indicate major vascular issues; nonetheless, CT angiography (CTA) is frequently used in these patients during the acute phase.
  • A study analyzed data from 203 ICH patients over two years to evaluate the effectiveness of CTA in detecting secondary causes of the condition, revealing that vascular issues were found in about 5.4% of cases, including arteriovenous malformations and aneurysms.
  • The findings suggest that macrovascular pathology is relatively rare in ICH patients, and those with vascular issues tend to be younger with lobar hemorrhages, indicating that a targeted approach could be beneficial for
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: An increased risk of stroke has been reported among patients with COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2. We aimed to investigate the nationwide prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among patients with acute ischaemic stroke and to study the impact on stroke severity, quality of care and mortality on an individual patient level.

Design: This was a nationwide register-based cohort study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Objectives: Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) is a low-cost, accessible, and noninvasive neuroprotective treatment strategy, but its efficacy and safety in acute ischemic stroke are controversial. With the publication of several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and the recent results of the RESIST trial, it may be possible to identify the patient population that may (or may not) benefit from RIC. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of RIC in patients with ischemic stroke receiving different treatments by pooling data of all randomized controlled studies to date.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) is a simple and noninvasive procedure that has proved to be safe and feasible in numerous smaller clinical trials. Mixed results have been found in recent large randomized controlled trials. This is a post hoc subgroup analysis of the RESIST trial (Remote Ischemic Conditioning in Patients With Acute Stroke), investigating the effect of RIC in different acute ischemic stroke etiologies, and whether an effect was modified by treatment adherence.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Recent evidence suggests a beneficial effect of endovascular thrombectomy in acute ischaemic stroke with large infarct; however, previous trials have relied on multimodal brain imaging, whereas non-contrast CT is mostly used in clinical practice.

Methods: In a prospective multicentre, open-label, randomised trial, patients with acute ischaemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation and a large established infarct indicated by an Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomographic Score (ASPECTS) of 3-5 were randomly assigned using a central, web-based system (using a 1:1 ratio) to receive either endovascular thrombectomy with medical treatment or medical treatment (ie, standard of care) alone up to 12 h from stroke onset. The study was conducted in 40 hospitals in Europe and one site in Canada.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: When patients with acute ischemic stroke present with suspected large vessel occlusion in the catchment area of a primary stroke center (PSC), the benefit of direct transport to a comprehensive stroke center (CSC) has been suggested. Equipoise remains between transport strategies and the best transport strategy is not well established.

Methods: We conducted a national investigator-driven, multicenter, randomized, assessor-blinded clinical trial.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Importance: Despite some promising preclinical and clinical data, it remains uncertain whether remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) with transient cycles of limb ischemia and reperfusion is an effective treatment for acute stroke.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of RIC when initiated in the prehospital setting and continued in the hospital on functional outcome in patients with acute stroke.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This was a randomized clinical trial conducted at 4 stroke centers in Denmark that included 1500 patients with prehospital stroke symptoms for less than 4 hours (enrolled March 16, 2018, to November 11, 2022; final follow-up, February 3, 2023).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To examine the agreement between emergency medical service (EMS) providers, neurology residents and neurology consultants, using the Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale (CPSS) and the Prehospital Acute Stroke Severity Scale (PASS).

Methods: Patients with stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA) and stroke mimic were included upon primary stroke admission or during rehabilitation. Patients were included from June 2018 to September 2019.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: We present a case illustrating evolution of symptoms and brain magnetic resonance imaging in cortical superficial siderosis.

Case Presentation: A 74-year-old man with no prior medical history presented with transient focal neurological episodes with subtle imaging changes. There was no evidence of cortical superficial siderosis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: We observed a decrease in the number of patients who were offered reperfusion therapy. We aimed to investigate if whether hospital system pressure measured as the percentage of stroke bed occupancy influenced decisions on treatment and disposition.

Design: Data from a regional quality of stroke care database were obtained and linked to the organizational data monitoring of the hourly inpatient stroke bed occupancy rate.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Evidence-based early stroke care as reflected by fulfillment of process performance measures, is strongly related to better patient outcomes after stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA). Detailed data on the resilience of stroke care services during the COVID-19 pandemic are limited. We aimed to examine the quality of early stroke care at Danish hospitals during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: To investigate the association between prestroke physical activity and depressive symptoms up to 6 months after stroke and examine if citalopram treatment modified the association.

Design: A secondary analysis of data from the multicentre randomised controlled trial The Efficacy of Citalopram Treatment in Acute Ischemic Stroke (TALOS).

Setting And Participants: TALOS was conducted at multiple stroke centres in Denmark from 2013 to 2016.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Despite effective treatments, many patients are still not offered reperfusion therapy for acute ischemic stroke.

Methods: We present a single-center observational study on acute ischemic stroke patients, who presented as candidates for reperfusion therapy but were deemed ineligible after work-up. Reasons for non-treatment were obtained by studying patient files and subsequently grouped into "too risky" (e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Rapid identification and treatment of stroke is crucial for the outcome of the patient. We aimed to determine the performance of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) independently and in combination with the Prehospital Stroke Score (PreSS) for identification and differentiation of acute stroke within 4.5 h after symptom onset.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability. Some patients may present with atypical symptoms. One of the very rare presentations of stroke is initial neurogenic pain.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The aging process leads to subtle decline in cognitive function, and in some overt dementia. Like physical activity Remote Ischemic Conditioning (RIC) may ameliorate these changes on cognitive impairment in humans. The purpose of this study was to compared the effects of single, repeated short-term and long-term treatment RIC, and analyze its effect registered as immediate vs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The risk of thrombosis increases in infectious diseases, yet observational studies from single centers have shown a decrease in admission of acute ischemic stroke patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. To investigate unselected stroke admission rates we performed a nationwide study in Denmark.

Methods: We extracted information from Danish national health registries.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: The main aim of the study is to investigate the performance of a two-part stroke scale for screening and subsequent severity assessment combined with a telephone conference (teleconference).

Materials And Methods: During a 6-month period, we prospectively tested the Prehospital Stroke Score (PreSS). PreSS part 1 is designed to identify stroke or TIA in a prehospital setting.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) is a promising safe, feasible, and inexpensive treatment for acute stroke, both ischemic and hemorrhagic. It is applied with a blood pressure cuff on the limbs and is ideal for the prehospital setting. RIC is a form of preconditioning with similarities to physical exercise.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF