The Impact of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy and Diastolic Dysfunction on Outcome in Intracerebral Hemorrhage Patients.

Background: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of LVH and DD in patients presenting with supratentorial deep ICH and to determine if the presence of LVH or DD was an independent predictor of initial ICH volume, hematoma expansion, or poor outcome.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on ICH patients who presented from 7/2008 to 12/2010. Cases were excluded if ICH was traumatic, lobar, infratentorial, secondary to elevated international normalized ratio, suspicious for underlying structural malformation, or where surgical evacuation was performed.

Hospital-Acquired Infection Underlies Poor Functional Outcome in Patients with Prolonged Length of Stay.

Introduction: Prolonged length of stay (pLOS) following ischemic stroke inflates cost, increases risk for hospital-acquired complications, and has been associated with worse prognosis.

Methods: Acute ischemic stroke patients admitted between July 2008 and December 2010 were retrospectively analyzed for pLOS, defined as a patient stable for discharge hospitalized for an additional ≥24 hours.

Results: Of 274 patients included, 106 (38.

Emergency department shift change is associated with pneumonia in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Background And Purpose: Emergency department (ED) nurses play a pivotal role in early acute ischemic stroke patient management. We hypothesized that patients exposed to ED nursing shift changes (SC) may develop pneumonia (PNA) more frequently and have worse early outcomes than do patients who have continuity of care until stroke unit admission.

Methods: Consecutive acute ischemic stroke patients presenting to our ED were studied using chart review and prospectively collected registry data.