Stroke Acute Care & Unilateral Spatial Neglect & Pusher Syndrome Flashcards
All patients admitted to hospital with suspected acute stroke should receive brain imaging evaluation on arrival to hospital. In most cases, noncontrast CT (NCCT) will provide the necessary information to make decisions about acute management (True/False)
- True
What is required before initiation of IV alteplase (tPA) in most patients
- Non-constrast head CT
- Glucose
What does not need to have resulted prior to IV tPA initiation if there is no suspicion for underlying coagulopathy
- International normalized ratio (INR)
- Partial thromboplastin time (PTT)
- Platelet count
Centers should attempt. to obtain non-contrast CT within______ of arrival in ≥50% of stroke patients who may be candidates for IV tPA or mechanical thrombectomy
- 20 minutes
When should IV tPA be administered for all eligible acute stroke patients
- Within 3 hrs of last known normal & to a more selective group within 4.5 hrs of last known normal
- Centers should attempt to achieve door to needle times of <60 min in ≥50% of stroke patients treated with IV tPA
What should BP be maintained at after IV. alteplase treatment
- BP should be maintained <180/105 mmHg for at least the first 24hrs afterwards
Describe mechanical thrombectomy
- For candidates, an urgent CT angiogram or MR angiogram (to look for large vessel occlusion) is recommended but should not delay treatment with IV tPA if indicated
- Should be initiated ASAP
Patients ≥18 years should undergo mechanical thrombectomy with a stent retriever if they:
- Have minimal prestroke disability
- Have a causative occlusion of the internal carotid artery or proximal middle cerebral artery
- Have a National Institutes of Health stroke scale score of ≥6
- Have a reassuring noncontrast head CT (ASPECT score of ≥6)
- If they can be treated within 6 hours of last known normal. No perfusion imaging (CT-P or MR-P) is required in these patients
Describe unilateral spatial neglect
- Most widely quoted definition of neglect is a description of the resulting behavioral disabilities: fails to report, respond, or orient to novel or meaningful stimuli presented to the side opposite a brain lesion
- This definition does not describe the causal mechanism of neglect but indicates that it is not simply due to sensory or motor defects
Hemianopsia/visual field cut screening
- Complains of having difficulty seeing items or state the inability to find things
- Miss details in one visual field
- Locate lost items once cued to the location
- Attempt to make eye contact during conversations, regardless of where the therapist stands
- Spontaneously use both UE when needed for a task
- Spontaneously compensate for loss of vision by turning head
Spatial neglect screening
- Miss details in one visual field
- Walk/propel into things on one. side without noticing
- Loss track of limbs, letting them fall off footrests or table without repositioning
- Seem to forget position of affected hand & drop or spill. items
Implications of unilateral spatial neglect (USN)
- Associated with poor functional outcomes & long stays in hospitals & rehab centers
- Predispose pts to the risk of falls & to semi permanent or permanent wheelchair use
- Can reduce QOL compared with that of other stroke pts who do not have USN
What are the terms used in clinical practice for USN
- Visual neglect
- Motor neglect
- Hemineglect
- Inattention
- Stroke may differentially affect our ability to direct our attention in the visual, auditory, or tactile modalities
What are the 3 types of USN
- Personal neglect: neglect of one side of the body
- Near extrapersonal: neglect of the environment within reaching distance
- Perceptual: unable to perceive or attend to contralateral space; neglect of environment beyond reaching distance
When is contralesional neglect occur more. often (left or right hemisphere stroke)
- More often after right hemisphere stroke
USN can occur with a lesion in what areas
- Attention is mediated by a network of many different anatomic areas working together
- Posterior parietal cortex: interconnections with premotor cortex
- Frontal lobe: eye fields, superior colliculus, & paralimbic areas
- Cingulate gyrus: strongest interconnection b/w posterior parietal lobe & paralimbic areas
- Striatum
- Thalamus