(Stroke. 1999;30:2631.)
© 1999 American Heart Association, Inc.
Original Contributions |
From the Departments of Neurology (A.D.), Hospital Universitari Doctor Josep Trueta, Girona; Hospital Universitario Xeral de Galicia (J.C.), Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Departments of Neurological Sciences (D.T.) and Neuroradiology (S.B.), University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy; and the Biostatistical Centre for Clinical Trials (F.I., E.L.), Leuven, Belgium.
| Abstract |
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MethodsEarly progressing stroke (EPS) was diagnosed when there
was a decrease of
2 points in consciousness or motor power or a
decrease of
3 points in speech scores in the Scandinavian
Neurological Stroke Scale from baseline to the 24-hour evaluation, and
late progressing stroke (LPS) was diagnosed when 1 of these decreases
occurred between the 24-hour evaluation and the evaluation at day 7.
Using logistic regression analyses, we looked for baseline
variables that predicted EPS and LPS and for factors measured after
the early or late acute phase and associated with the 2 clinical
courses.
ResultsOf the 615 patients studied, 231 (37.5%) worsened during the first 24 hours after inclusion. The overall incidence of EPS was 37% in the placebo group and 38% in the recombinant tissue plasminogen activator group (P=0.68, Fishers Exact Test). Focal hypodensity (odds ratio [OR], 1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3 to 2.9) and hyperdensity of the middle cerebral artery sign (OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.1 to 3.1) on baseline computed tomography, longer delay until treatment (OR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.1 to 1.4) and history of coronary heart disease (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.8) and diabetes (OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.0 to 3.1) were independent prognostic factors for EPS. Extent of hypodensity >33% in the middle cerebral artery territory (OR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.6 to 4.0) and brain swelling (OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.1 to 3.2) on CT at 24 hours but not hemorrhagic transformation of cerebral infarct nor decrease in systolic blood pressure within the first 24 hours after treatment were associated with EPS in multivariate analyses. LPS was observed in 20.3% of patients. Older age, a low neurological score, and brain swelling at admission independently predicted late worsening.
ConclusionsIn the setting of a multicenter trial, EPS and LPS are mainly related to computed tomographic signs of cerebral edema. Treatment with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, hemorrhagic transformation, and moderate changes in systolic blood pressure did not influence the early clinical course.
Key Words: brain edema stroke outcome stroke, acute thrombolytic therapy tomography, x-ray computed
| Introduction |
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In all the abovementioned studies, cranial CT was not systematically repeated during progression or shortly after its occurrence, and, therefore, the contribution to clinical course of early development of brain edema or of hemorrhagic transformation was not thoroughly assessed, particularly in those patients who died before the second CT scan could be performed. Moreover, those studies did not evaluate all the same variables, so different results also may be attributed to different study plans.
To clarify these apparent discrepancies, we decided to exploit the clinical, biochemical, and radiological data recorded in the acute phase of stroke patients enrolled in the European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study (ECASS) I. Our objective was to identify factors that potentially predicted or were associated with progression of stroke and to evaluate the influence of stroke progression on clinical outcome.
| Subjects and Methods |
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Stroke severity was assessed by the Scandinavian Stroke Scale
(SSS)8 on admission, and evaluated again at 120 minutes, 8
hours, 24 hours, and 7 days after treatment. The SSS consists of 7
items (consciousness; speech; facial, arm, hand, and leg motor power;
and gait) with 2 to 5 possible grades of deficit ranked in decreasing
order; that is, the lower the score, the worse the deficit. We
considered early progressing stroke (EPS) to be indicated by a decrease
of
3 points for speech, or
2 points for consciousness or arm, hand,
or leg motor power at the SSS from baseline to the 24-hour evaluation.
Late progressing stroke (LPS) was considered to be indicated when SSS
dropped by the same score between the 24-hour and the 7-day
evaluations. If no selected items of the SSS dropped between baseline
and the 24-hour evaluation or between the 24-hour and 7-day
evaluations, the patients were classified as non-EPS or non-LPS,
respectively. Patients who died within the first 24 hours were
classified in the EPS group if they had progressed at the last
observation at 2 or 8 hours after inclusion. Of a total 620 patients, 5
were excluded from the EPS analyses and additional 69 were
excluded from the LPS analyses; causes for exclusion are shown
in the Figure
. Therefore, 615 patients
were included from the EPS analyses and 546 from the LPS
analyses.
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To look for potential predictors of both EPS and LPS, we recorded
age, sex, past medical history of hypertension, diabetes, previous
transient ischemic attack or stroke, coronary heart
disease and congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation on admission,
body temperature (the place on the body from which temperature was
taken was not registered), SBP and DBP on admission, time from onset of
symptoms to initiation of treatment, laboratory parameters
on admission (serum glucose levels, fibrinogen, and activated
partial thromboplastin time), and CT findings before randomization. In
addition to these factors, EPS was considered to be a potential
predictor of LPS. All CT scans were read by an independent committee
that was blinded to the clinical course. CT variables
analyzed were hyperdensity of MCA (HMCA) sign, extent of focal
hypodensity in the MCA territory (none,
33%, or >33%), brain
swelling (sulcal effacement, midline shift, or ventricular
compression) and previous infarct.
Factors potentially associated with EPS were investigated by taking into account treatment with rtPA or placebo; subcutaneous heparin administration for prevention of deep-vein thrombosis within the first 24 hours; changes in SBP between admission and subsequent measurements at 2-hour intervals within the first 24 hours ; body temperature and hemostatic variables at 24 hours; and CT at 24±12 hours. With regard to the final factor, in addition to the findings registered at initial CT examination, we also looked for whether hemorrhagic transformation was associated with neurological worsening. According to the ECASS I study design,7 hemorrhagic infarction (HI) was defined as small petechiae along the margins of the infarct or more confluent petechiae within the infarcted area but without space-occupying effect, and parenchymal hemorrhage (PH) was defined as blood clot with space-occupying effect.
Type of treatment, SSS score at 24 hours, intravenous heparin within the first week, and findings of the third CT scan performed (between days 4 and 10) were used to identify factors potentially associated with LPS.
Stroke outcome was evaluated by the modified Rankin Scale at 90 days after treatment. This scale also included mortality, because patients who died were scored with the worst possible score (value 6) in this scale. Causes of death were also investigated in each group as possible additional clues to the underlying pathogenic mechanisms of neurological deterioration.
Statistics
Tests performed were the 2-sided Fisher Exact and
Wilcoxon tests (Statxact or SAS software) for categorical
variables and the t test (SAS software) for
continuous variables. Percentage of change in SBP between admission
and each of the subsequent measurements was calculated as follows:
where SBP(0) is the value on admission and
SBP(n) is the value at subsequent measurement;
the higher negative value within the first 24 hours was chosen to be
the maximum reduction in SBP. Potential predictors and factors
associated with EPS or LPS were analyzed by the stepwise
logistic regression procedure (SAS software; level 0.05). Treatment,
age, and sex were forced into all the models, whereas EPS was forced
into the model concerning predictors of LPS. Results were expressed as
adjusted odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals
(CIs). According to the characteristics of a secondary
analysis, all probability values must be regarded as
exploratory.
| Results |
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Table 1
shows the demographic
data, past medical history, clinical characteristics, laboratory
parameters on admission, and findings of the initial CT
scan. EPS patients were significantly older and had a longer delay
until randomization, lower SSS score, and higher serum glucose levels
at entry than non-EPS patients. Regarding risk factors, EPS patients
showed significantly higher frequency of history of diabetes and
coronary heart disease. Results of CT scans exhibited HMCA
sign, focal hypodensity, and brain swelling more frequently in the EPS
than in the non-EPS patients. Of all these variables, focal
hypodensity, HMCA sign, longer delay until treatment, and history of
coronary heart disease and diabetes remained significant
predictors for EPS in the final logistic model (Table 2
).
|
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Among the variables recorded at 24 hours, higher body
temperature, HMCA sign, size of infarct, brain swelling, and
hemorrhagic transformation on cranial CT were significantly associated
with EPS in the univariate analyses (Table 3
). Maximum decrease in SBP within the
first 24 hours after randomization, type of treatment (rtPA or
placebo), and subcutaneous heparin administration within the first 24
hours were not related to EPS. Size of infarct involving >33% of the
MCA territory (OR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.6 to 4.0; P<0.001) and
brain swelling (OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.1 to 3.2; P=0.023) were
the only factors independently associated with EPS in the final
logistic model. Hemorrhagic transformation was not associated with EPS
nor was PH (yes or no) in further logistic analysis.
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Among the 546 patients for whom the evolution of the SSS at day 7 was
available, 111 patients (20.3%) had LPS. Forty-one LPS patients and
145 non-LPS patients had also had an EPS (P=0.502). LPS
involved the level of consciousness in 23 (21%) patients (of whom 6
had additional impaired limb strength and 6 had an additional speech
impairment), limb strength in 81 (73%) (8 of whom had associated
speech impairment), and speech alone in 7 (6%). LPS patients were
older and had higher systolic blood pressure and mainly lower
SSS scores at entry compared with their non-LPS counterparts, whereas
history of coronary disease, diabetes, and serum glucose levels
was comparable in the 2 groups. HMCA sign, focal hypodensity, and brain
swelling on initial CT were significantly more frequent in LPS than in
non-LPS patients (Table 1
). Older age, a
low SSS score, and brain swelling independently predicted LPS (see
final logistic model) (Table 2
). In a further analysis
that included the CT variables recorded at 24 hours, we
obtained similar results.
CT scan findings between days 4 and 10 and low SSS score at 24 hours
were associated with LPS in the univariate analysis
(Table 4
). HMCA sign (OR, 3.0; 95% CI,
1.3 to 6.6), hemorrhagic transformation (OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.1 to 3.0),
low SSS score (OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.96 to 0.99) and no treatment with
intravenous heparin within the first week (OR, 0.55; 95%
CI, 0.30 to 0.96) were the factors independently associated with LPS in
the final logistic model. When hemorrhagic transformation was
dichotomized as PH (yes or no), brain swelling (OR, 2.76; 95% CI, 1.60
to 4.98) but not PH was selected by the model.
|
Poor outcome was significantly more frequent in EPS than in non-EPS patients. At 90 days, mortality was 31.2% in the former and 11.5% in the latter (P<0.0001). At the end of the study period, only 9.7% of EPS patients had any or mild nondisabling deficit (modified Rankin score, grade 0 or 1) as opposed to 46.4% of non-EPS patients (P<0.0001). LPS also represented a high risk of bad outcome: mortality (21.6% versus 6.4%, P<0.0001) and the rate of combined mortality and functional disability (modified Rankin score, grade >1; 91.7% versus 56.3%; P<0.0001) were significantly more frequent in LPS than in non-LPS patients.
Brain edema (44%), parenchymal hemorrhage (25%), and noncerebrovascular complications (24%) were causes of death in EPS patients, whereas noncerebrovascular complications (55%), parenchymal hemorrhage (16%), and brain edema (14%) were those attributed to non-EPS patients. The cause was undetermined in 7% of the first group and 15% of the second group. Causes of mortality in LPS patients were comparable with those of non-LPS patients: noncerebrovascular complications in 75% and 68%, brain edema in 8% and 11%, parenchymal hemorrhage in 8% and 7%, and undetermined in 8% and 14%, respectively.
| Discussion |
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The presence of early hypodensity at initial CT has already been pointed out as a predictor of early deterioration in previous studies.13 Focal hypodensity and HMCA sign herald subsequent large cerebral infarcts14 that may, in turn, favor the development of mass effect. In fact, cerebral infarcts involving >33% of the MCA territory and brain edema on CT at 24 hours were the only factors independently associated with EPS in the present study. However, one third of EPS patients did not have extended infarcts at repeat CT scan, which suggests that other causes may be implicated. In a recently published article,14 patients with nonextended subcortical infarcts and early neurological deterioration were found to have higher serum glutamate levels than those who did not deteriorate, which suggests a crucial role of excitotoxic mechanisms in the pathogenesis of stroke progression, also irrespective of the extent of the infarct.16 17 18 In this study, neither SBP or DBP at entry nor changes in systolic blood pressure within the first 24 hours were associated with EPS. Although a minority of patients was excluded from randomization as a result of untreatable hypertension, our results suggest that high SBP does not contribute to early neurological deterioration in patients in whom remarkable changes in blood pressure over the acute phase are avoided. On the context of the still-open debate on whether to treat hypertension in the acute phase of ischemic stroke,19 our data may be useful for indicating a policy in the management of moderately elevated blood pressure.
LPS was seen in one fifth of patients and was preceded by a stable neurological condition during the first 24 hours in 63% of them. We have identified some risk factors for LPS that are different from those found in EPS. Worsening was related to older age, poorer neurological condition at admission, and mass effect on the baseline CT and also in the CT performed at 24 hours. This means that brain edema may play a role in both EPS and LPS, which is in keeping with the notion that brain edema reaches its maximum expression within the initial 5 days after stroke onset. CT findings between days 4 and 10 confirm the importance of cerebral edema on LPS. In fact, when we considered together all types of hemorrhagic transformation (PH and HI), this was selected as a predictor of LPS, whereas PH taken separately was rejected by the model, and brain swelling was selected as independent predictor of LPS. This is in agreement with previous observations that the mass effect of the underlying infarct rather than HI contributes to deterioration.20 21
The association between HMCA sign at the third CT and LPS found in the present study is in agreement with the observation that MCA occlusion is related to neurological deterioration.4 The presumably higher rate of recanalization achieved in recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) patients did not exert a protective role, because the frequency of both EPS and LPS was similar in treated and placebo patients. However, recanalization rate and its effect on EPS and LPS should be elucidated by a specifically targeted study.
Finally, it is of interest that most of LPS patients had an impairment of motor function in contrast with a higher frequency of deterioration of level of consciousness seen in EPS patients. This suggests that although brain edema played a role both in EPS and LPS, as mentioned previously, it exerted a less important mass effect in the latter than in the former. An indirect confirmation of this hypothesis is the fact that mortality was attributed to cerebral causes in 69% of EPS patients versus only in 16% of LPS patients.
In conclusion, progression of stroke is a likely multifactorial event only partially predictable basing on the clinical, laboratory, and imaging data routinely available in the current clinical practice. Hence, we need to advance in the search for biochemical markers and for new neuroimaging tags of stroke progression. However, at present, because CT signs of brain swelling are the main visible indexes of possible early and late progression, antiedema strategies should be considered in future clinical trials.
| Footnotes |
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Received November 16, 1998; revision received June 24, 1999; accepted August 25, 1999.
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