Frequency and Characteristics of Non-Neurological and Neurological Stroke Mimics in the Emergency Department

BACKGROUND

Stroke mimics are common in the emergency department (ED) and early detection is important to initiate appropriate treatment and withhold unnecessary procedures. We aimed to compare the frequency, clinical characteristics and predictors of non-neurological and neurological stroke mimics transferred to our ED for suspected stroke.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study of consecutive patients with suspected stroke transported to the ED of the University Hospital Essen between January 2017 and December 2021 by the city's Emergency Medical Service. We investigated patient characteristics, preclinical data, symptoms and final diagnoses in patients with non-neurological and neurological stroke mimics. Multinominal logistic regression analysis was performed to assess predictors of both etiologic groups.

RESULTS

Of 2167 patients with suspected stroke, 762 (35.2%) were diagnosed with a stroke mimic. Etiology was non-neurological in 369 (48.4%) and neurological in 393 (51.6%) cases. The most common diagnoses were seizures (23.2%) and infections (14.7%). Patients with non-neurological mimics were older (78.0 vs. 72.0 y, p < 0.001) and more likely to have chronic kidney disease (17.3% vs. 9.2%, p < 0.001) or heart failure (12.5% vs. 7.1%, p = 0.014). Prevalence of malignancy (8.7% vs. 13.7%, p = 0.031) and focal symptoms (38.8 vs. 57.3%, p < 0.001) was lower in this group. More than two-fifths required hospitalization (39.3 vs. 47.1%, p = 0.034). Adjusted multinominal logistic regression revealed chronic kidney and liver disease as independent positive predictors of stroke mimics regardless of etiology, while atrial fibrillation and hypertension were negative predictors in both groups. Prehospital vital signs were independently associated with non-neurological stroke mimics only, while age was exclusively associated with neurological mimics.

CONCLUSIONS

Up to half of stroke mimics in the neurological ED are of non-neurological origin. Preclinical identification is challenging and a high proportion requires hospitalization. Awareness of underlying etiologies and differences in clinical characteristics is important to provide optimal care.

The ability of selected oral microorganisms to emit red fluorescence

Some novel caries detection and excavation devices rely on the ability of bacteria to produce red fluorescing compounds. The aim of this study was to examine the ability of selected oral microorganisms to emit red fluorescence. Streptococcus mutans, S. oralis, S. salivarius, S. sobrinus, Lactobacillus fermentans, L. casei, L. rhamnosus, Actinomyces naeslundi, A. israelii, Prevotella intermedia, and Fusobacterium nucleatum were inoculated onto Columbia agar with haemin and vitamin K and incubated anaerobically for up to 7 days in the dark. The resulting bacterial colonies were excited using filtered xenon light (405 +/- 20 nm) and digitally photographed through a 530-nm high-pass filter. The red and green portions of the colony fluorescence were analyzed using a computer program and the red/green ratio was calculated. All colonies emitted both red and green fluorescence. The green outweighed the red portion for the following species (in descending order) S. oralis, S. salivarius, S. mutans, F. nucleatum and S. sobrinus. The red portion was higher for the following species (in descending order) P. intermedia, A. naeslundi, A. israelii, L. fermentans, L. rhamnosus and L. casei. With all the bacteria examined, one color portion generally outweighed the other, giving the visual impression of either red or green fluorescence. We conclude that red fluorescence is well suited to detection of the bacteria which cause dentin caries but it is not suitable as an indicator of the presence and activity of the streptococci involved in initial caries.