COVID-19 and the cardiovascular system-current knowledge and future perspectives.

The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had devastating impact on populations around the world. The high mortality rates in patients with COVID-19 has been attributed to the influence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), its causative viral agent, on several physiological systems in human body, including the respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological systems. There is emerging evidence on propensity of this virus to attack cardiovascular system.

The association of transradial access and transfemoral access with procedural outcomes in acute ischemic stroke patients receiving endovascular thrombectomy: A meta-analysis.

Objective: There is an ongoing debate regarding the benefits of using transradial access (TRA) over transfemoral access (TFA) in endovascular therapies including endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. This study sought to investigate the association of TRA and TFA with procedural success, access-site complications, first-pass reperfusion (FPR), puncture-to-recanalisation (PTR) time and hemorrhagic transformation (HT) by performing a meta-analysis.

Materials And Methods: PubMed, EMBASE and Scopus were searched.

Telemedicine during and post-COVID 19: The insights of neurosurgery patients and physicians.

Objective: COVID-19 has caused a massive surge in telemedicine utilization as patients and physicians tried to minimize in-person contact to avoid the spread and impact of the pandemic. This study aims to expand on the knowledge of telemedicine during and beyond the COVID-19 era as it pertains to its use, efficacy, and patient and provider satisfaction through surveys.

Methods: This is a retrospective study involving 93 patients and 33 Neurosurgery physicians who anonymously participated in the survey about their experience with telemedicine visits.

Impact of diabetes on clinical and safety outcomes in acute ischemic stroke patients receiving reperfusion therapy: A meta-analysis.

Background: Patients with diabetes are known to have worse outcomes after an acute ischemic stroke (AIS) relative to those without diabetes. However, the impact of diabetes on the outcomes after the reperfusion therapy is poorly understood.

Objectives: This study investigated prognostic accuracy of diabetes and its association with clinical and safety outcomes in AIS patients receiving intravenous thrombolysis (IVT), endovascular thrombectomy (EVT), or both.

Incidence of white matter lesions in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: A meta-analysis.

Objective: Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been found to be associated with encephalopathy and brain imaging abnormalities. The identification of incident white matter lesions, known to be associated with cerebral microcirculatory failure and cerebrovascular disease, in COVID-19 patients is of clinical and scientific interest. We performed a meta-analysis to investigate the incidence of white matter lesions (WMLs) in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Value of pre-intervention CT perfusion imaging in acute ischemic stroke prognosis.

Noninvasive imaging plays an important role in acute stroke towards diagnosis and ongoing management of patients. Systemic thrombolysis and endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) are proven treatments currently used in standards of care in acute stroke settings. The role of computed tomography angiography (CTA) in selecting patients with large vessel occlusion for EVT is well established.

Digital subtraction angiography in cerebrovascular disease: current practice and perspectives on diagnosis, acute treatment and prognosis.

Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) is the gold-standard imaging modality in acute cerebrovascular diagnosis. The role of DSA has become increasingly prominent since the incorporation of endovascular therapy in standards of care for acute ischemic stroke. It is used in the assessment of cerebral vessel patency; however, the therapeutic role of DSA from a prognostic standpoint merits further investigation.

Leukoaraiosis severity and post-reperfusion outcomes in acute ischaemic stroke: A meta-analysis.

Objectives: Severity of leukoaraiosis may mediate outcomes after reperfusion therapy in acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) patients. However, the level of the association remains poorly understood. We performed a meta-analysis to investigate the impact of leukoaraiosis severity on functional outcome, survival, haemorrhagic complications, and procedural success in AIS patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis and/or endovascular thrombectomy.

Value of pre-intervention computed tomography perfusion imaging in the assessment of tissue outcome and long-term clinical prognosis in patients with anterior circulation acute ischemic stroke receiving reperfusion therapy: a systematic review.

Background: Computed tomography perfusion (CTP) imaging has emerged as an important adjunct to the current armamentarium of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) workflow. However, its adoption in routine clinical practice is far from optimal.

Purpose: To investigate the putative association of CTP imaging biomarkers in the assessment of prognosis in acute ischemic stroke.

Emerging role of white matter lesions in cerebrovascular disease.

White matter lesions have been implicated in the setting of stroke, dementia, intracerebral haemorrhage, several other cerebrovascular conditions, migraine, various neuroimmunological diseases like multiple sclerosis, disorders of metabolism, mitochondrial diseases and others. While much is understood vis a vis neuroimmunological conditions, our knowledge of the pathophysiology of these lesions, and their role in, and implications to, management of cerebrovascular diseases or stroke, especially in the elderly, are limited. Several clinical assessment tools are available for delineating white matter lesions in clinical practice.

Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio in acute ischemic stroke: Immunopathology, management, and prognosis.

There is an ongoing need for accurate prognostic biomarkers in the milieu of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) receiving reperfusion therapy. Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been implicated in emergency medicine and acute stroke setting as an important biomarker in the prognosis of patients. However, there are ongoing questions around its accuracy and translation into clinical practice given suboptimal sensitivity and specificity results, as well as varying thresholds and lack of clarity around which NLR time points are most clinically indicative.

In-hospital systems interventions in acute stroke reperfusion therapy: a meta-analysis.

Objectives: The value of in-hospital systems-based interventions in streamlining treatment delays associated with reperfusion therapy delivery in acute ischaemic stroke (AIS), in the emergency department (ED), is poorly understood. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess and quantify the value of in-hospital systems-based interventions in streamlining reperfusion therapy delivery following AIS.

Material & Methods: Articles from the following databases were retrieved: Medline, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials.

Prognostic capacity of hyperdense middle cerebral artery sign in anterior circulation acute ischaemic stroke patients receiving reperfusion therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Pre-intervention CT imaging-based biomarkers, such as hyperdense middle cerebral artery sign (HMCAS) may have a role in acute ischaemic stroke prognostication. However, the clinical utility of HMCAS in settings of reperfusion therapy and the level of prognostic association is still unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the association of HMCAS sign with clinical outcomes and its prognostic capacity in acute ischaemic stroke patients treated with reperfusion therapy.

Diagnostic and prognostic utility of computed tomography perfusion imaging in posterior circulation acute ischemic stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Computed tomography perfusion (CTP) imaging could be useful in the diagnosis of posterior circulation stroke (PCS) and in identifying patients who are likely to experience favorable outcomes following reperfusion therapy. The current study sought to investigate the diagnostic and prognostic capability of CTP in acute ischemic PCS by performing a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: Medline/PubMed and the Cochrane Library were searched using the terms: "posterior circulation", "CT perfusion", "acute stroke", and "reperfusion therapy".