Publications by authors named "Waltraud Pfeilschifter"

Background: Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in patients with recent ingestion of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) is a frequent challenge and remains controversial. The benefit of DOAC reversal before IVT is uncertain.

Methods: Using target trial methodology, we analyzed data from 28 comprehensive stroke centers.

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Background: Nurses play a key role for delivery of high-quality patient care in the interprofessional stroke team. Nurses' autonomy and advanced competencies are essential to a positive work environment, yet, are not well developed in Germany.

Objective: To assess whether using the Fever-Sugar-Swallow (FeSS) Protocols in stroke care improves: a) nurses' satisfaction regarding their ability to autonomously manage fever, hyperglycemia, and dysphagia; and b) physicians' satisfaction regarding the management of these parameters in German stroke units.

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Objective: The aim was to determine patient, disease, and treatment characteristics associated with outcome in patients with primary angiitis of the central nervous system (PACNS) in a large multicenter German cohort.

Methods: In a retrospective, observational cohort study, we analyzed 163 adult patients who met the diagnostic criteria for PACNS. Data were collected from January 2004 to December 2018 in 13 tertiary care centers in Germany.

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Purpose: About 20%-25% of all intracerebral haemorrhages are associated with oral anticoagulation therapy. Reflecting changings prescription patterns in the general population, the spectrum of oral anticoagulation-associated intracerebral haemorrhage has substantially changed in the last decade. In many European countries, direct oral anticoagulant-associated intracerebral haemorrhage is now more frequent than vitamin K antagonist-associated intracerebral haemorrhage.

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Background: Antithrombotic therapy of acute stroke patients with tandem lesions and emergent carotid artery stenting (CAS) is still a matter of controversial debates. The lack of evidence from dedicated studies favors a variety of clinical practices. The aim of this study was to use German Stroke Registry (GSR) data of selected high-volume centers to analyze the spectrum of antithrombotic regimens and their influence on complication rates and clinical outcome.

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Background: In recent years, we have witnessed a continuous, evidence-based expansion of indications for endovascular therapy (EVT) in the treatment of ischaemic stroke, driven by advancements in extended time windows and target vessel occlusion. Our study aimed to evaluate the temporal changes in patients' characteristics, treatment, and outcomes in clinical practice.

Methods: We used data from the German Stroke Registry, a large national multicentre prospective registry, which includes all patients receiving EVT for ischaemic stroke at its participating centers.

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Background: The impact of direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) on haematoma size after intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) compared to no-anticoagulation is controversial and prospective data are lacking.

Methods: The investigator-initiated, multicentre, prospective RASUNOA-prime study enrolled patients with non-traumatic ICH and atrial fibrillation while on a DOAC, vitamin K antagonist (VKA) or no anticoagulation (non-OAC). Neuroimaging was reviewed centrally blinded to group allocation.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study evaluated the impact of nurse-led implementation of protocols to manage fever, hyperglycemia, and swallowing in German stroke units, showing significant improvements in adherence to these protocols after training and support from an Australian team.
  • - Results indicated a notable increase in overall adherence from 20% to 28%, with specific improvements in managing hyperglycemia (from 43% to 55%) and swallowing (from 52% to 61%), though fever protocol adherence showed little change.
  • - Additional findings revealed increased timely administration of anti-pyretics and insulin, as well as improved screening for swallowing within 24 hours of admission, highlighting the effectiveness of the implemented support strategies.
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Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive lipid signaling molecule with pleiotropic implications by both auto- and paracrine signaling. Signaling occurs by engaging five G protein-coupled receptors (S1P) or intracellular pathways. While the extensively studied S1P with a chain length of 18 carbon atoms (d18:1 S1P) affects lymphocyte trafficking, immune cell survival and inflammatory responses, the biological implication of atypical S1Ps such as d16:1 or d20:1 remains elusive.

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Background And Purpose: The value of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in eligible tandem lesion patients undergoing endovascular treatment (EVT) is unknown. We investigated treatment effect heterogeneity of EVT + IVT versus EVT-only in tandem lesion patients. Additional analyses were performed for patients undergoing emergent internal carotid artery (ICA) stenting.

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Article Synopsis
  • The QASC Australia trial showed that nurse-led protocols for managing fever, sugar levels, and swallowing (FeSS Protocols) can reduce deaths and disabilities after a stroke, prompting a larger study in Europe involving 64 hospitals across 17 countries to evaluate the scalability of these protocols.
  • The implementation process was supported by a multi-stakeholder framework that included academic partners and the Angels Initiative, a non-profit organization focused on promoting evidence-based stroke care.
  • A qualitative evaluation was conducted through interviews with various stakeholders to identify factors affecting the engagement and implementation of the FeSS Protocols, revealing three main themes regarding the challenges and facilitators of this process.
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Article Synopsis
  • - Poor adherence to stroke care guidelines is a global issue, but the QASC trial showed that nurse-led implementation can significantly improve patient outcomes like death and disability.
  • - A multi-country study from 2017 to 2021 assessed the effectiveness of the FeSS Protocol across 64 hospitals, revealing substantial improvements in the care elements related to fever, hyperglycemia, and swallowing.
  • - The successful rollout of the FeSS Protocol across diverse healthcare systems demonstrated that both high-income and middle-income countries could achieve similar enhancements in stroke care practices.
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Introduction: Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) is an on label treatment for selected patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). As major bleeding or allergic shock may occur, the need to ensure patients' informed consent for IVT is a matter of debate.

Patients And Methods: Prospective investigator-initiated multi-center observational study to assess the ability of AIS patients to recall information, provided by a physician during a standardized educational talk (SET) on IVT use.

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Background: Endovascular therapy (EVT) in acute ischemic stroke has been widely established. Globally, stroke patients are transferred either directly to a thrombectomy center (DC) or a peripheral stroke unit with a "drip-and-ship" (DS) model. We aimed to determine differences between the DS and DC paradigms after EVT of acute stroke patients with large-vessel-occlusion (LVO) in the database of the German Stroke Registry (GSR).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examined how treatment delays affect the outcomes of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) before mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in patients who suffered a stroke.
  • Researchers analyzed data from the SWIFT-DIRECT trial involving 408 patients, comparing outcomes between those receiving IVT+MT and those undergoing MT alone, focusing on functional independence and safety outcomes.
  • Results showed no significant interaction between treatment delays and the benefits of IVT, but there was some indication that shorter in-hospital delays might lead to better outcomes, suggesting the need for further investigations in future studies.
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Article Synopsis
  • The study looked at whether doing a procedure called thrombectomy by itself is just as good as doing thrombectomy with a medicine called alteplase for patients who have a stroke caused by a blocked blood vessel.
  • Researchers in Europe and Canada tested this by randomly assigning stroke patients to either just thrombectomy or thrombectomy plus alteplase.
  • They wanted to see if the patients who only had thrombectomy would have similar recovery outcomes to those who had both treatments, and they kept track of how well everyone was doing over 90 days.
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Introduction: Acute symptomatic seizures (ASz) after ischemic stroke are associated with increased mortality; therefore, identifying predictors of ASz is important. The purpose of this study was to analyze predictors of ASz in a population of patients with ischemic stroke due to large arterial vessel occlusion (LVO).

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study examined patients with acute ischemic stroke caused by LVO between 2016 and 2020.

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Background And Purpose: Impaired kidney function is associated with an increased risk of vascular events in acute stroke patients, when assessed by single measurements of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). It is unknown whether repeated measurements provide additional information for risk prediction.

Methods: The MonDAFIS (Systematic Monitoring for Detection of Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke) study randomly assigned 3465 acute ischemic stroke patients to either standard procedures or an additive Holter electrocardiogram.

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Objectives: Until now, thrombectomy studies have provided little reliable information about the correlation between the infarct topography and clinical outcome of acute stroke patients with embolic large-vessel occlusions. Therefore, we aimed to analyze whether infarcts of the corticospinal tracts in the central white matter (CWM) or the internal capsule on postinterventional imaging controls are associated with poor clinical outcome after thrombectomy.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed imaging data from 70 patients who underwent endovascular thrombectomy for emergent middle cerebral artery or carotid-T occlusions.

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Ischemic stroke is a highly prevalent vascular disease leading to oxygen- and glucose deprivation in the brain. In response, ischemia-induced neovascularization occurs, which is supported by circulating CD34 endothelial progenitor cells. Here, we used the transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) mouse model to characterize the spatio-temporal alterations within the ischemic core from the acute to the chronic phase using multiple-epitope-ligand cartography (MELC) for sequential immunohistochemistry.

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Background And Purpose: The use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) has increased sharply and DOAC are the oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT) of choice for the majority of patients with newly-diagnosed atrial fibrillation. Intracranial hemorrhage is the most severe adverse event of OAT. Systematic data on the course of intracranial hemorrhage under DOAC compared to vitamin K antagonists (VKA) are warranted to enable shared decision making in AF patients needing OAT.

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Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a lipid mediator with numerous biological functions. The term 'S1P' mainly refers to the sphingolipid molecule with a long-chain sphingoid base of 18 carbon atoms, d18:1 S1P. The enzyme serine palmitoyltransferase catalyses the first step of the sphingolipid de novo synthesis using palmitoyl-CoA as the main substrate.

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Background: Mechanical thrombectomy and systemic thrombolysis are important therapies for stroke patients. However, there is disagreement about the accompanying risk of acute symptomatic seizures.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients with an acute ischaemic stroke caused by large vessel occlusion was performed.

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The precise regulation of blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability for immune cells and blood-borne substances is essential to maintain brain homeostasis. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), a lipid signaling molecule enriched in plasma, is known to affect BBB permeability. Previous studies focused on endothelial S1P receptors 1 and 2, reporting a barrier-protective effect of S1P1 and a barrier-disruptive effect of S1P2.

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