Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Diagnosis and Management of Acute Stroke: Briana Witherspoon DNP, ACNP-BC
Diagnosis and Management of Acute Stroke: Briana Witherspoon DNP, ACNP-BC
Acute Stroke
Briana Witherspoon DNP, ACNP-BC
Stroke Objectives
• Review etiology of strokes
• Identify likely location/type of stroke based of
physical exam
• Acute management of ischemic stroke
• Acute management of hemorrhagic stroke
Stroke Fast Facts
• Affects ~ 800, 000 people per year
• Leading cause of disability, cognitive impairment,
and death in the United States
• Accounts for 1.7% of national health expenditures.
• Estimated U.S. cost for 2012 = $71.5 billion
– Mostly hospital (esp. LOS) & post stroke costs
– Appropriate use of IV t-PA s long-term cost
– Appropriate billing for AIS w/ thrombolysis ( hospital
reimbursement from $5k to $11.5k)
Stroke. 2013;44:2361-2375
Where We’re Headed
• By 2030 ~ 4% of the US population over the
age of 18 is projected to have had a stroke
• Between 2012 and 2030, total direct stroke-
related medical costs are expected to increase
from $71.55 billion to $183.13 billion
• Total annual costs of stroke are projected to
increase to $240.67 billion by 2030, an
increase of 129%
Stroke. 2013;44:2361-2375
Three Stroke Types
Ischemic Intracerebral Subarachnoid
Stroke Hemorrhage Hemorrhage
0 No Stroke
• Small Vessel:
– No cortical signs on exam
• Posterior Circulation:
– Crossed signs
– Cranial nerve findings
• Watershed:
– Look at watershed and borderzone areas
– Hypo-perfusion
Cortical Signs
RIGHT BRAIN: LEFT BRAIN:
- Right gaze preference - Left gaze preference
- Neglect - Aphasia
• Wernicke’s
– Receptive aphasia
– Posterior part of the superior temporal gyrus
– Located on the dominant side (left) of the brain
Case 1
• 74 year old African American female with sudden
onset of left-sided weakness
• Meds: Losartan
Case 1
• BP- 172/89, P– 104, T- 98.0, RR– 22, O2- 94%
• NEURO EXAM:
- Speech dysarthric but language intact
- Right gaze preference
- Left facial droop
- Left- sided hemiplegia
- Neglect
Case 1
Case 1
Case 1
Case 1
Case 1
• Right MCA infarct, most likely cardioembolic from atrial fibrillation
• Small Vessel:
– No cortical signs on exam
• Posterior Circulation:
– Crossed signs
– Cranial nerve findings
• Watershed:
– Look for watershed pattern
– S/S of Hypo-perfusion
Etiology of Stroke
SMALL VESSEL (Lacunes <1.5cm)
•Risk Factors
– HTN
– HLD
– DM
– Tobacco Use
– Sleep apnea
Case 2
• 85 year old male who woke up with left face, arm, and leg
numbness
• NEURO EXAM:
- Decreased sensation on left face, arm, and leg
Case 2
Case 2
• Small Vessel:
– No cortical signs on exam
• Posterior Circulation:
– Crossed signs
– Cranial nerve findings
• Watershed:
– Look at watershed and borderzone areas
– Hypo-perfusion
Brainstem Stroke Syndromes
• Rarely presents with an isolated symptom
– Double vision
– Facial numbness and/or weakness
– Slurred speech
– Difficulty swallowing
– Ataxia
– Vertigo
– Nausea and vomiting
– Hoarseness
Case 3
• 55 year old male with acute onset of right sided numbness
and tingling, left sided face pain and numbness, gait
imbalance, nausea/vomiting, vertigo, swallowing difficulties,
and hoarse speech
• NEURO EXAM:
- Decreased sensation on left face
- Decreased sensation on right body
- Left ataxia on FNF, and unsteady gait
- Voice hoarse
- Nystagmus
Case 3
Case 3
Case 3
• Brainstem Stroke
• Received IV tPa
• Post-tPa symptoms greatly improved
regained sensation, ataxia resolved
• Discharged home with out patient PT/OT
Determining the Location
• Large Vessel:
– Look for cortical signs
• Small Vessel:
– No cortical signs on exam
• Posterior Circulation:
– Crossed signs
– Cranial nerve findings
• Watershed:
– Look for the watershed pattern
– Think about reasons of hypo-perfusion
• Hypotension
• Stenosed vessel, etc
Case 4
• 56 year old female who upon waking post-op after elective
surgery was found to have L sided weakness and neglect
• History of HTN
• Meds - Lisinopril
Case 4
• BP- 132/74, P– 84
• NEURO EXAM:
- Left face, arm, and leg weakness
- Neglect
- DTR’s brisk on the left, toe up on left
Case 4
Case 4
Case 4
Case 4
Case 4
Case 4
Case 4
Case 4
• Right hemisphere watershed infarct secondary to
hypoperfusion in the setting of Right ICA stenosis
http://spinwarp.ucsd.edu/neuroweb/Text/
non-trauma-ER.htm
Hypertensive ICH
• Spontaneous rupture of a small artery deep in the brain
• Typical sites
– Basal Ganglia
– Cerebellum
– Pons
• Typical clinical presentation
– Patient typically awake and often stressed, then abrupt
onset of symptoms with acute decompensation
Ganglionic Bleed
• Contralateral hemiparesis
• Hemisensory loss
• Homonymous hemianopia
• Conjugate deviation of eyes toward the side of the bleed or
downward
• AMS (stupor, coma)
Cerebral Hemorrhage
JPG
Cerebellar Hemorrhage
• Vomiting (more common in ICH than SAH or Ischemic CVA)
• Ataxia
• Eye deviation toward the opposite side of the bleed
• Small sluggish pupils
• AMS
Cerebellar Hemorrhage
Pontine Hemorrhage
• Pin-point but reactive pupils
• Abrupt onset of coma
• Decerebrate posturing or flaccidity
• Ataxic breathing pattern
Pontine Hemorrhage
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
• “Worst headache of my life”
• AMS
• Photophobia
• Nuchal rigidity
• Seizures
• Nausea and vomiting
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Management
Airway
• Most likely related to decreased level of consciousness (LOC),
dysarthria, dysphagia
• GCS < 8 - INTUBATE
• Avoid Hyperventilation or Hypoventilation
• NPO until swallow assessment completed- high aspiration risk
• Begin mobilization as soon as clinically safe
• Keep HOB greater than 30 degrees
Stroke Algorithm
Imaging
CT scan MRI
• Non- contrast CTH remains • Superior for showing
the gold standard as it is underlying structural lesions
superior for showing IVH • Contraindications
and ICH
• CT with contrast may help
identify aneurysms, AVMs,
or tumors but is not
required to determine
whether or not the patient
is a tPa candidate
Acute (4 hours) Subacute (4 days)
Infarction Infarction
R L R L
www.acponline.org/about_acp/chapters/o
k/gordon.ppt
Save the Penumbra!!
Normal
20 function
15
Neuronal CBF
PENUMBRA dysfunction 8-18
10
5 Neuronal CBF
CORE death <8
1 2 3
TIME (hours) CEREBRAL
BLOOD
FLOW
(ml/100g/min)
www.acponline.org/about_acp/chapters/o
k/gordon.ppt
Supportive Therapy
• Glucose Management
– Infarction size and edema increase with acute and chronic
hyperglycemia
– Hyperglycemia is an independent risk factor for hemorrhage
when stroke is treated with t-PA
• Antiepileptic Drugs
– Seizures are common after hemorrhagic CVAs
– ICH related seizures are generally non-convulsive and are
associated to with higher NIHSS scores, a midline shift, and tend
to predict poorer outcomes
Hyperthermia
• Treat fevers!
– Evidence shows that fevers > 37.5 C that persists
for > 24 hrs correlates with ventricular extension
and is found in 83% of patients with poor
outcomes
References
• Adams, H., del Zappo, G., Alberts, M., Bhatt, D., Brass, L., Furlan, A., Grubb, R., &
Higashida, R. (2007). Guidelines for the early management of adults with
ischemic stroke. Stroke, 38, 1655-1711.
• Bradley G Walter, Daroff B Robert, Fenichel M Gerald, Jancovic, Joseph; Neurology in clinical practice, principles of diagnosis and
management. Philadelphia Elsevier, 2004.
• Castillo, J., Leira, R., Garcia, M., Serena, J., Blanco, M. Blood pressure decrease
during the acute phase of ischemic stroke is associated with brain injury and poor
stroke outcome. Stroke. 2004: 35: 520-526.
• Goals for Management of Patients With Suspected Stroke Algorithm.
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/112/24_suppl/IV-111/F1.expansion.html.
Accessed May 8, 2012
• Gordon, D. L. (n.d.). Update in stroke management . Retrieved from
www.acponline.org/about_acp/chapters/ok/gordon.ppt
• Hesselink, J. Imaging of cerebral hemorrhages and AV malformations.
http://spinwarp.ucsd.edu/neuroweb/Text/br-740.htm. accessed May 10, 2012.
Questions?