Executive dysfunction, awareness deficits and quality of life in patients with cerebral small vessel disease: a structural equation model.

Objective: To investigate the relationships between executive dysfunction, awareness deficits and perceptions of quality of life (QOL) in patients with cerebral small vessel disease (SVD).

Method: We tested neuropsychological function with simultaneous measurement of awareness performance in 125 participants. Forty-five were carefully phenotyped patients with SVD, defined as a lacunar stroke with corresponding infarct on neuroimaging; and 80 were age-matched controls, providing a normal comparison for neuropsychological measures.

User experience of a centralized hyperacute stroke service: a prospective evaluation.

Background And Purpose: Centralizing hyperacute stroke unit (HASU) care services allows improved access to thrombolysis but could be associated with worse patient experience, particularly when early repatriation to a local stroke recovery unit occurs as this may result in discontinuity of care. A centralized model of care was introduced in London, United Kingdom, with 8 HASUs providing acute care for the whole 8.3 million population, with repatriation on day 3 to a local stroke recovery unit.