- Endovascular Cerebral Venous Sinus Imaging with Optical Coherence Tomography
Endovascular optical coherence tomography imaging was feasible in this preclinical animal study. Adoption of this imaging technique in the human cerebral venous sinus could aid in the diagnosis, treatment, and understanding of the pathophysiology of various diseases of the sinus.
- Recent Administration of Iodinated Contrast Renders Core Infarct Estimation Inaccurate Using RAPID Software
Patients who received IV iodinated contrast in proximity (<8 hours) to CTA/CTP as part of a separate imaging study had a much higher likelihood of core infarct underestimation with RAPID software compared with contrast-naive patients. Over-reliance on RAPID postprocessing for treatment disposition of patients with extended window emergent large-vessel occlusion should be avoided, particularly in cases with recent IV contrast administration.
- Characteristics of Large-Vessel Occlusion Associated with COVID-19 and Ischemic Stroke
Consecutive ischemic stroke and TIA admissions (COVID and non-COVID) to the authors' hospital during a 10-week period from March 1 to May 10, 2020 were collected and compared with data from the same time period in 2019. Among 20 patients with COVID-19 and acute ischemic stroke, 15 (75%) had large-vessel occlusion. These patients were young (mean age, 46.5 years), male (93%), without major burden of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, and had a severe stroke presentation. Large vessel occlusions were observed in multiple vessels (40%), uncommonly affected vessels, and atypical locations with a large thrombus burden.