• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.5-13
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• 2002

Purpose : Studies on stroke were conducted by using the scaling system to estimate, compare severity and to predict prognosis. National Institute of Health Stroke Scale is widely used for this purpose due to its accuracy in predicting clinical symptoms. According to previous studies, neurologic symptoms in acute stage of ischemic stroke did not disappear, and approximately 27% to 43% of them were aggravated, We conducted this study to define clinical aggravation and to improve ischemic stroke in its acute stage by using NIHSS. Methods and Subjects : Due to their acute ischemic stroke, twenty five patients visited Wonkwang Oriental Medicine in Cheonju within forty eight hours from its beginning stage. Two oriental medicine doctors checked NIHSS every six hours during the first ninety six hours and later every twenty four hours for twelve days from the beginning of the disease. Results : The Aggravated group consisted of nineteen out of twenty five cases, which is seventy six % and NIHSS on admissions were $5.88{\pm}0.63$ and it increased linearly over time by the equation of NIHSS on admissions was $8.50{\pm}2.02$ and it decreased linearly over time by the equation of NIHSS=-0.01 one hour+7.91. Conclusion : During the study, we defined the clinical courses of acute ischemic stroke. There have been no reports on this so far. Therefore, we hope that this study will be beneficial to expand the scope of oriental medicine in dealing with aggravating ischemic stroke in the acute stage.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.79-99
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• 2024

Background: There was an important revision of the Korean Clinical Practice Guideline for Stroke (KCPGS) for antithrombotic therapy in patients with acute ischemic stroke in 2022. This review is to provide an updated information in this revision. Methods: The revision history by year after the first announcement was examined for each topic, focusing on antithrombotic therapy during acute phase which was revised in 2022. We compared before and after the revision, and investigated the clinical outcomes presented as evidence. It was also compared with the current U.S. guidelines. Results: The major changes about antiplatelet therapy are a clause stating that dual antiplatelet therapy with clopidogrel and aspirin initiated within 24 hours from the stroke onset and maintained for up to 21-30 days is recommended as an acute treatment, as well as the clause that antithrombotic therapy may be initiated within 24 hours after intravenous thrombolytics and that the use of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor antagonists can be considered in highly selected patients as rescue therapy taking into account of benefit and risk. The change to the use of anticoagulants is that it may be reasonable to start oral anticoagulant between 4 and 14 days after stroke onset for patients with acute ischemic stroke and atrial fibrillation. Conclusions: It will be helpful in improving health outcomes for clinical pharmacists to be aware of the latest information for antithrombotic therapy and to actively use it in pharmaceutical care of stroke patients.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.258-264
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• 2010

Objective : The objectives of this study were to analyze the outcome and hemorrhagic risk of intravenous (IV) argatroban in patients with acute ischemic stroke presenting beyond six hours of ischemic symptom onset. Methods : Eighty patients with acute ischemic stroke who were admitted to the hospital beyond six hours from ischemic symptom onset were retrospectively analyzed. We could not perform IV thrombolysis or intra-arterial thrombolysis because of limited time window. So, IV argatroban was performed to prevent recurrent thrombosis and progression of infarcted area. The outcome was assessed by the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score and related hemorrhagic risk was analyzed. Also, each outcome was analyzed according to the initial stroke severity, subtype, and location. Results : The median NIHSS was 8.0 at admission, 4.1 upon discharge, and 3.3 after three months. A good outcome was achieved in 81% of patients upon discharge and 88% after three months. Symptomatic hemorrhage occurred in only two patients (3%). IV argatroban was effective regardless of initial stroke severity, subtype, and location. Conclusion : IV argatroban may be an effective and safe treatment modality for acute ischemic stroke presenting beyond six hours of ischemic symptom onset.

• Journal of Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.297-305
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• 2023

Objective: The term "weekend effect" refers to an increase in the mortality rate for hospitalizations occurring on weekends versus weekdays. In this study, we investigated whether such an effect exists in patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke with large vessel occlusion (currently the standard treatment for this condition) at a single center in Japan. Methods: We surveyed 151 patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke with large vessel occlusion (75 and 76 patients were treated during daytime and nighttime, respectively) from January 2019 to June 2021. The items evaluated in this analysis were the rate of modified Rankin Scale ≤2 or prestroke scale, mortality, and procedural treatment time. Results: The rates of modified Rankin Scale ≤2 or prestroke scale and mortality at 90 days after treatment did not differ significantly between daytime and nighttime (41.3% vs. 29.0%, p=0.11; 14.7% vs. 11.8%, p=0.61, respectively). The door-to-groin time tended to be shorter during daytime versus nighttime (57 [IQR: 42.5-70] min vs. 70 [IQR: 55-82]) min, p=0.0507). Conclusions: This study did not reveal differences in treatment outcome between daytime and nighttime in patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke with large vessel occlusion. Therefore, the "weekend effect" was not observed in our institution.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.42-57
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• 2020

Appropriate use and analysis of neuroimaging techniques is an inevitable aspect of clinical trials for patients with acute ischemic stroke. Neuroimaging examinations were recently used to define the core eligibility criteria and outcomes in acute ischemic stroke research. Recent clinical trials for endovascular treatment in acute ischemic stroke have also demonstrated the efficacy or safety of endovascular treatment using various imaging modalities as well as clinical indices. Furthermore, independent imaging reviews and imaging core laboratory assessments are essential to manage and analyze imaging data in order to enhance the reliability of the outcomes. Therefore, we systematically reviewed the use of neuroimaging in recent randomized clinical trials for endovascular treatment of acute ischemic stroke in order to provide a thorough summary, which would serve as a resource guiding the use of appropriate imaging protocols and analyses in future clinical trials for acute ischemic stroke. This review will help researchers select appropriate imaging biomarkers among the various imaging protocols available and apply the selected type of imaging examination for each study in accordance with the academic purpose.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.633-638
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• 2001

Objective : Stroke is the most frequent cause of death in Korea. Because it remains severe disablities disturbing normal life, it is important to carry out intervention preventing from progression of condition in patients with acute ischemic stroke within therapeutic time window. Thus early thrombolysis is beneficial for patients with acute ischemic stroke. However its therapeutic efficacy is not known in combination with oriental medical therapy. In this study, we investigated the safety and the clinical effect of continous intravenous urokinase therapy and oriental medical therapy. Methods : Twenty eight patients with acute onset of ischemic stroke no later than three days received continous infusion of urokinase and oriental medical therapy. We estimated the subjects's neurological deficit and functional status with National institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke Scale(NIHSS) and Europian Stroke Scale (ESS) prior to therapy, on day 3, 7, 14 after the starting urokinase therapy and on day at discharge. Results: After day 7, the scores of NIHSS and ESS were improved significantly. There are no differences in therapeutic effects of the interval between onset of stroke and initiation of therapy. Complication were noted in four(14%) patients, but these are not fatal complication and make no neurological deficiency. Conclusion : The results of these investment suggest that continuous intravenous urokinase with oriental medical therapy could be a safe and effective intervention to prevent from progression in acute ischemic stroke. But this findings should be confirmed in multicenter double blind controlled trial.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.1-6
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• 2008

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the seasonal variation in stroke types, ischemic stroke subtypes, stroke risk factors and Sasang constitutions. Methods: 226 patients with acute stroke within 14 days onset were included, who were admitted to Kyunghee Oriental Medical Center from November 2005 to October 2006. The year was subdivided into four parts: spring (March-May); summer (June-August); fall (September-November); and winter (December-February). Stroke types, ischemic stroke subtypes, stroke risk factors and Sasang constitutions in the four groups were examined. Results: Ischemic stroke was most frequent in summer, whereas hemorrhagic stroke was most frequent in winter. There was no significant difference in seasonal variation of stroke. The frequency of ischemic heart disease among stroke risk factors was significantly high in spring (p=0.031). The frequency of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, atrial fibrillation, and hyperlipidemia did not differ among seasons. There was no significant difference in Sasang constitution among seasons. Frequency of small vessel occlusion was highest in summer. Large artery atherosclerosis was frequent in spring and summer,but seasonal variation of ischemic stroke subtypes did not show statistical difference. Conclusion: Acute stroke demonstrates seasonal characteristics according to stroke types, ischemic stroke subtypes, risk factors for stroke, and Sasang constitutions. These results have important clinical implications in stroke prevention.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.55-63
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• 2022

Oleanolic acid (OA), a natural pentacyclic triterpenoid, has been reported to exert protective effects against several neurological diseases through its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the therapeutic potential of OA against acute and chronic brain injuries after ischemic stroke using a mouse model of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO, MCAO/reperfusion). OA administration immediately after reperfusion significantly attenuated acute brain injuries including brain infarction, functional neurological deficits, and neuronal apoptosis. Moreover, delayed administration of OA (at 3 h after reperfusion) attenuated brain infarction and improved functional neurological deficits during the acute phase. Such neuroprotective effects were associated with attenuation of microglial activation and lipid peroxidation in the injured brain after the tMCAO challenge. OA also attenuated NLRP3 inflammasome activation in activated microglia during the acute phase. In addition, daily administration of OA for 7 days starting from either immediately after reperfusion or 1 day after reperfusion significantly improved functional neurological deficits and attenuated brain tissue loss up to 21 days after the tMCAO challenge; these findings supported therapeutic effects of OA against ischemic stroke-induced chronic brain injury. Together, these findings showed that OA exerted neuroprotective effects against both acute and chronic brain injuries after tMCAO challenge, suggesting that OA is a potential therapeutic agent to treat ischemic stroke.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.91-96
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• 2007

The measurement of pathologically low levels of tissue $pO_2$ is an important diagnostic goal for determining the prognosis of many clinically important diseases including cardiovascular insufficiency, stroke and cancer. The target tissues nowaday have mostly been tumors or the myocardium, with less attention centered on the brain. Radiolabelled nitroimidazole or derivatives may be useful in identifying the hypoxic cells in cerebrovascular disease or traumatic brain injury, and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. In acute stroke, the target of therapy is the severely hypoxic but salvageable tissue. $^{18}F-MISO$ PET and $^{99}mTc-EC-metronidazole$ SPECT in patients with acute ischemic stroke identified hypoxic tissues and ischemic penumbra, and predicted its outcome. A study using $^{123}I-IAZA$ in patient with closed head injury detected the hypoxic tissues after head injury. Up till now these radiopharmaceuticals have drawbacks due to its relatively low concentration with hypoxic tissues associated with/without low blood-brain barrier permeability and the necessity to wait a long time to achieve acceptable target to background ratios for imaging in acute ischemic stroke. It is needed to develop new hypoxic marker exhibiting more rapid localization in the hypoxic region in the brain. And then, the hypoxic brain imaging with imidazoles or non-imidazoles may be very useful in detecting the hypoxic tissues, determining therapeutic strategies and developing therapeutic drugs in several neurological disease, especially, in acute ischemic stroke.

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.26-35
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• 2009

Purpose: This paper reviews current diagnostic evaluation, treatment, nursing considerations, and the nurse practitioner’s (NP) role in acute ischemic stroke care. Methods: National guidelines and extensive literature on acute stroke care were reviewed and a relevant clinical case was introduced. Results: Computerized tomography (CT) of the head without contrast is the initial brain imaging procedure for patients with an acute stroke. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be an alternative test. Restoration of cerebral perfusion to the affected area is a key therapeutic strategy for ischemic stroke. A number of treatment strategies such as thrombolysis, anticoagulation, antiplatelet, and surgical treatment can be selected to improve blood flow to the ischemic region. The NP on the stroke team is involved with immediate stroke management including neurological assessment, ensuring adequate oxygenation, blood pressure management, activity, and diet. Discharge planning with the patient, family teaching and coordination of follow up care should also be implemented early in the hospitalization. Conclusion: The nurse practitioner is one of the cardinal members on the stroke team, and must be updated with current treatment and management guidelines.