Guidelines for the Management of Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage: A Guideline for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association

The clinical management of acute intracerebral hemorrhage

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a stroke subtype with high mortality and significant disability among survivors. The management of ICH has been influenced by the results of several major trials completed in the last decade. It is now recognized that hematoma expansion is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. However, efforts to improve clinical outcome through mitigation of hematoma expansion have so far been unsuccessful. Acute blood pressure management has recently been shown to be safe in the setting of acute ICH but there was no reduction in mortality with early blood pressure (BP) lowering. Two large trials of surgical evacuation of supratentorial ICH have not shown improvement in outcome with surgery, thus minimally invasive surgical strategies are currently being studied. Lastly, a better understanding of the pathophysiology of ICH has led to the identification of several new mechanisms of injury that could be potential therapeutic targets.

Benefits of Stroke Treatment Using a Mobile Stroke Unit Compared With Standard Management: The BEST-MSU Study Run-In Phase

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Faster treatment with intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) is likely to improve outcomes. Optimizing prehospital triage by mobile stroke units (MSUs) may speed treatment times. The Benefits of Stroke Treatment Delivered Using a Mobile Stroke Unit (BEST-MSU) study was launched in May 2014 using the first MSU in the United States to compare stroke management using an MSU versus standard management (SM). Herein, we describe the results of the prespecified, nonrandomized run-in phase designed to obtain preliminary data on study logistics.

METHODS

The run-in phase consisted of 8 MSU weeks when all-patient care occurred on the MSU and 2 SM weeks when the MSU nurse met personnel on scene or at the emergency department to ensure comparability with MSU patients. Telemedicine was independently performed in 9 MSU cases.

RESULTS

Of 130 alerts, 24 MSU and 2 SM patients were enrolled. Twelve of 24 MSU patients received tPA on board; 4 were treated within 60 minutes of last seen normal, and 4 went on to endovascular treatment. There were no hemorrhagic complications. Four had primary intracerebral hemorrhage. Agreement on tPA eligibility between the onsite and telemedicine physician was 90%.

CONCLUSIONS

The run-in phase provided a tPA treatment rate of 1.5 patients per week, assured us that treatment within 60 minutes of onset is possible, and enabled enrollment of patients on SM weeks. We also recognized the opportunity to assess the effect of the MSU on endovascular treatment and intracerebral hemorrhage. Challenges include the need to control biased patient selection on MSU versus SM weeks and establish inter-rater agreement for tPA treatment using telemedicine.

Blood Pressure Management After Intracerebral Hemorrhage

OPINION STATEMENT

Elevated blood pressure (BP), which presents in approximately 80 % of patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), is associated with increased risk of poor outcome. The Second Intensive Blood Pressure Reduction in Acute Cerebral Haemorrhage Trial (INTERACT2) study, a multinational, multicenter, randomized controlled trial published in 2013, demonstrated better functional outcomes with no harm for patients with acute spontaneous ICH within 6 h of onset who received target-driven, early intensive BP lowering (systolic BP target <140 mmHg within 1 h, continued for 7 days) and suggested that greater and faster reduction in BP might enhance the treatment effect by limiting hematoma growth. The trial resulted in revisions of guidelines for acute management of ICH, in which intensive BP lowering in patients with acute ICH is recommended as safe and effective treatment for improving functional outcome. BP lowering is also the only intervention that is proven to reduce the risk of recurrent ICH. Current evidences from several randomized trials, including PROGRESS and SPS3, indicate that long-term strict BP control in patients with ICH is safe and could offer additional benefits in major reduction in risk of recurrent ICH. The latest American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) guidelines recommended a target BP of <130/80 mmHg after ICH, but supporting evidence is limited. Randomized controlled trials are needed that focus on strict BP control, initiated early after onset of the disease and continued long-term, to demonstrate effective prevention of recurrent stroke and other major vascular events without additional harms in the ICH population.

Mannitol and Outcome in Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Background and Purpose—

Mannitol is often used to reduce cerebral edema in acute intracerebral hemorrhage but without strong supporting evidence of benefit. We aimed to determine the impact of mannitol on outcome among participants of the Intensive Blood Pressure Reduction in Acute Cerebral Hemorrhage Trial (INTERACT2).

Methods—

INTERACT2 was an international, open, blinded end point, randomized controlled trial of 2839 patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (<6 hours) and elevated systolic blood pressure allocated to intensive (target systolic blood pressure, <140 mm Hg within 1 hour) or guideline-recommended (target systolic blood pressure, <180 mm Hg) blood pressure–lowering treatment. Propensity score and multivariable analyses were performed to investigate the relationship between mannitol treatment (within 7 days) and poor outcome, defined by death or major disability on the modified Rankin Scale score (3–6) at 90 days.

Results—

There was no significant difference in poor outcome between mannitol (n=1533) and nonmannitol (n=993) groups: propensity score–matched odds ratio of 0.90 (95% confidence interval, 0.75–1.09; P =0.30) and multivariable odds ratio of 0.87 (95% confidence interval, 0.71–1.07; P =0.18). Although a better outcome was suggested in patients with larger (≥15 mL) than those with smaller (<15 mL) baseline hematomas who received mannitol (odds ratio, 0.52 [95% confidence interval, 0.35–0.78] versus odds ratio, 0.91 [95% confidence interval, 0.72–1.15]; P homogeneity <0.03 in propensity score analyses), the association was not consistent in analyses across other cutoff points (≥10 and ≥20 mL) and for differing grades of neurological severity. Mannitol was not associated with excess serious adverse events.

Conclusions—

Mannitol seems safe but might not improve outcome in patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT00716079.

Apolipoprotein A5 and apolipoprotein C3 single nucleotide polymorphisms are correlated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease: a case-control and meta-analysis study

Background

Triglycerides (TGs) are proatherogenic lipoproteins involving the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), while apolipoprotein A5 (APOA5) and apolipoprotein C3 (APOC3) are main lipoproteins composing TG-rich lipoproteins. In this study, we aim to explore the correlation of CHD with APOA5 -1131 T > C and APOC3 -455 T > C single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

Methods

A sum of 210 CHD patients, hospitalized between Jan. 2013 and Mar. 2015 at China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, were selected as our case group and 223 healthy individuals who had physical examination at same hospital at the same period were selected as control group. The frequency distribution of genotypes of APOA5 -1131 T > C and APOC3 -455 T > C SNPs were measured by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The Stata 12.0 software was utilized for statistical analyses.

Results

There was no significant difference on age and sex between case and control group (P > 0.05). History of smoking, drinking, hypertension and diabetes mellitus, body mass index and levels of TG and fasting blood sugar in case group were shown to be higher than control group (P < 0.05), while levels of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in case group were lower than control group (P < 0.05). Both CC and TC′ + CC frequencies of APOA5 -1131 T > C and APOC3 -455 T > C in case group were higher compared to control group (both P < 0.05). Additionally, T allele frequencies of the two SNPs in case group were lower than control group, while C allele in case group has higher frequencies compared to control group (both P < 0.05). The results of meta-analysis under allele and dominant models showed that APOA5 -1131 T > C and APOC3 -455 T > C SNPs are likely to increase the risk of CHD (both P < 0.05).

Conclusion

APOA5 -1131 T > C and APOC3 -455 T > C SNPs may play potent roles in the development and progression of CHD.