BACKGROUND:Mechanical thrombectomy has become standard-of-care in the treatment of emergent large vessel occlusion. However, it is not yet known if social factors impact post-thrombectomy recovery. We studied the association between clinical and sociodemographic factors with 3-month functional outcomes post thrombectomy. METHODS:In this prospective cohort study, 290 patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy at Montefiore-Einstein Hospital in NYC between 1/1/2021 and 4/1/2024 were analyzed. The cohort spanned multiple census tracts and included a diverse patient population from New York City and surrounding areas. The primary outcome was change in modified Rankin Scale (ΔmRS) from pre-stroke baseline to 90-180 days post-stroke. Ordinal logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between ΔmRS and social vulnerability, adjusting for age, sex, stroke severity, and procedural success. RESULTS:Worse functional outcomes were associated with older age (OR 1.03; p = 0.003), male sex (OR 1.86; p = 0.006), higher stroke severity (OR 1.10; p < 0.001), and lower reperfusion success (OR 2.17; p = 0.012). Social vulnerability was not significantly associated with long-term outcomes (OR 1.21; p = 0.401). CONCLUSION:In this cohort, functional outcomes after mechanical thrombectomy were influenced by clinical and procedural factors rather than sociodemographic vulnerability. While equitable outcomes were observed in the acute setting, ongoing research is needed to explore potential disparities across the broader stroke care continuum, including post-acute recovery.

Introduction: Observational studies often use participants’ self-reported health data to identify clinical endpoints. Information on the accuracy of self-reported cardiovascular and pulmonary events among Hispanic/Latino populations is lacking. Research Question: Are self-reported hospitalizations for cardiovascular and pulmonary events in an observational study of Hispanic/Latino participants consistent with physician adjudication of medical records? Methods: We assessed 526 participants (mean age: 54 years; 64% female) who self-reported hospitalizations during 2008-2016 annual follow-up interviews in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL). Participants reported all hospitalizations within the past year and the reason for each hospitalization. Medical records for reported hospitalizations were abstracted and reviewed by two physicians to determine event classification. Disagreements between reviewers were adjudicated by a third physician. Reviewers classified each event as myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure (HF), stroke, or chronic lower respiratory disease (CLRD; defined as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic bronchitis, or emphysema). We calculated the positive predictive value (PPV) of these self-reported events as the proportion verified by physician review. We examined the PPV by gender and acculturation (measured by language preference: Spanish or English). Results: There were 90 MI, 96 HF, 112 stroke, and 538 CLRD events self-reported during follow-up. Using physician adjudication as the standard criterion, the PPV of self-reported events was 42% for MI, 25% for HF, 54% for stroke, and 18% for CLRD. The PPV of stroke among females was 43% (95% CI: 32%, 56%); the PPV among males was 65% (95% CI: 53%, 76%). The PPV of CLRD among females was 20% (95% CI: 17%, 24%); the PPV among males was 11% (95% CI: 7%, 18%). For CLRD, the PPV among those whose preferred language was Spanish was 16% (95% CI: 12%, 20%); the PPV among those whose preferred language was English was 23% (95% CI: 18%, 29%). Among self-reported MI events not confirmed by physician adjudication, the most common diagnosis was unspecified chest pain. Conclusions: In an observational study of Hispanic/Latino participants, the PPV of self-reported cardiovascular and pulmonary events is low and varies by demographics. Relying solely on self-report to ascertain cause-specific clinical events may contribute substantial bias in observational studies.

BACKGROUND:Lp(a) (lipoprotein[a]) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease; however, its association with cerebrovascular disease is not as well established. METHODS:Data from a population-based cohort of Hispanics/Latinos included 16 333 individuals with baseline Lp(a) levels (nmol/L) and self-reported prevalent stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). A subset of 2642 individuals with brain magnetic resonance imaging was also included. Linear and multivariate logistic regression assessed the association of Lp(a) with (1) self-reported stroke or TIA, (2) cerebral injury defined as self-reported stroke or TIA or evidence of a stroke on brain magnetic resonance imaging, (3) white matter hyperintensity volume, and (4) silent brain infarcts. Sampling weights were utilized given the HCHS/SOL (Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos) complex sample design. RESULTS:Mean age±SE was 41.1±0.3 years, 52.0% women, and median interquartile range (Q1, Q3) Lp(a) level of 19.7 (7.3-60.6) nmol/L; brain magnetic resonance imaging subset mean age±SE was 49.9±0.4 years, 56.4% women, and median (interquartile range) Lp(a) level of 21.7 (8.1-62.9) nmol/L. Each unit increase in log-transformed Lp(a) was associated with higher odds of self-reported stroke or TIA (odds ratio, 1.13 [95% CI, 1.01-1.27]; P=0.03). Lp(a) levels in the highest quintile (>77 nmol/L) were significantly associated with higher odds of prevalent stroke or TIA compared with Lp(a) <6 nmol/L (first quintile: odds ratio, 1.74 [95% CI, 1.09-2.77]; P=0.02). The highest proportion of cerebral injury was noted in Q5, while the lowest proportion was noted in Q2. When comparing Lp(a) >77 nmol/L with Lp(a) of 6 to <13 nmol/L (second quintile), a significant association was found between Lp(a) and cerebral injury that persisted after fully adjusted models (odds ratio, 2.03 [95% CI, 1.05-3.93]; P=0.03). Each unit increase in log-Lp(a) was associated with a 0.10 increase in log-white matter hyperintensity (β, 0.10; P=0.005). No significant association was found between Lp(a) and silent brain infarcts. CONCLUSIONS:Lp(a) is independently and significantly associated with prevalent stroke/TIA, and white matter hyperintensity, in a large diverse population of Hispanics/Latinos.

Introduction: Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease; however, its association with cerebrovascular disease is not as well established. Methods: Data from HCHS/SOL, a population-based cohort of Hispanics/Latinos, was utilized. We included 16,039 participants with measured Lp(a) levels (nmol/L) and self-reported history of prevalent stroke or transient-ischemic attack (TIA) from Visit 1. Data from SOL-INCA MRI (ancillary study conducted after Visit 2) was utilized to identify a subset of 2,668 HCHS/SOL participants with brain MRI. Linear and logistic regression was used to study the association of Lp(a) with 1. Self-reported stroke or TIA; 2. Cerebral injury defined as self-reported stroke or TIA or evidence of a stroke on brain MRI; and 3. White matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume modeled as log (WMH/total cranial volume). Lp(a) was modeled as a continuous variable and as quintiles. Sampling weights and surveys methods were used to account for the complex HCHS/SOL design. Results: HCHS/SOL mean age ± SE was 41.1 ± 0.3 years, 52.0% female, and median (IQR) Lp(a) level 19.7 (7.3-60.6) nmol/L. SOL-INCA MRI mean age ± SE was 49.9 ± 0.4 years, 56.4% female, and median (IQR) Lp(a) level 21.7 (8.1-62.9). A ten nmol/L unit increase in Lp(a) was significantly associated with a higher risk of self-reported prevalent stroke or TIA (OR 1.03, 95% CI: 1.02-1.05, p = 0.0002). Lp(a)>77 nmol/L (5 th quintile) was significantly associated with higher risk of self-reported prevalent stroke or TIA (OR 1.8, 95% CI: 1.2-2.8, p = 0.009) compared to Lp(a) <6 nmol/L (1 st quintile) as reference. A ten unit increase in Lp(a) was significantly associated with higher odds of cerebral injury (OR 1.03, 95% CI: 1.02-1.05, p<0.0001). Lp(a)>77 nmol/L was significantly associated with cerebral injury (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.3- 2.6, p=0.002) as compared to Lp(a) <6 nmol/L. A ten unit increase in Lp(a) was also significantly associated with increasing WMH volume (β 0.02, p=0.0002). Conclusions: Lp(a) is significantly associated with self-reported prevalent stroke or TIA, brain MRI evidence of cerebral injury, and WMH, in a large diverse population of Hispanics/Latinos, suggesting that Lp(a) may be a modifiable risk factor for cerebrovascular disease.

Background: 24hr urinary sodium (Na) potassium (K) excretions are considered as accurate measures of sodium and potassium intake, but data are limited in large population-based studies due to the difficulties of 24hr urine sample collection. Hypothesis: 24hr urinary Na and K excretion can be predicated by blood metabolomic signatures, which are associated with the risk of cardiometabolic diseases. Methods: We assessed 24hr urinary Na, K excretion and sodium/potassium ratio (Na/K) in 447 apparently healthy individuals from the SOL-Nutrition & Physical Activity Assessment Study (SOLNAS) of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL). We calculated urinary Na, K excretion, and Na/K metabolite scores by using the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator regression on 199 serum metabolites in SOLNAS, and evaluated their associations with incident CVD (heart failure, stroke, myocardial infarction), type 2 diabetes (T2D), and hypertension (HTN) in up to 5738 individuals in HCHS/SOL. Results: There were 41, 22, and 71 metabolites selected to be predictive of urinary Na, K excretion, and Na/K, respectively. Metabolite scores were significantly correlated with measured urinary Na (r=0.35, p < 5e -14 ), K (r=0.58, p< 5e -50 ) excretion and Na/K (r=0.6, p< 5e -50 ). After multivariate adjustment, metabolite scores of urinary Na excretion and Na/K were significantly associated with incident CVD risk (hazard ratio=2.6 for Na and 1.91 for Na/K, per 1 SD increase in score), incident T2D (relative risk [RR]=1.33 for Na and 1.16 for Na/K), and incident HTN (RR=1.53 for Na and 1.35 for Na/K) over a median 7.6 years of follow-up. The metabolite score of urinary K excretion was not associated with CMD risk. Conclusion: In US Hispanics/Latinos, higher levels of 24hr urinary Na excretion and Na/K indicated by blood metabolomics signatures were associated with increased risk of CVD, HTN, and T2D.

To describe a case of a young woman diagnosed with Sneddon's Syndrome (SS) through a comprehensive and interdisciplinary evaluation.

IMPORTANCE Historical redlining was a discriminatory housing policy that placed financial services beyond the reach of residents in inner-city communities. The extent of the impact of this discriminatory policy on contemporary health outcomes remains to be elucidated. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the associations among historical redlining, social determinants of health (SDOH), and contemporary community-level stroke prevalence in New York City. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS An ecological, retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted using New York City data from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2018. Data from the population-based sample were aggregated on the census tract level. Quantile regression analysis and a quantile regression forests machine learning model were used to determine the significance and overall weight of redlining in relation to other SDOH on stroke prevalence. Data were analyzed from November 5, 2021, to January 31, 2022. EXPOSURES Social determinants of health included race and ethnicity, median household income, poverty, low educational attainment, language barrier, uninsurance rate, social cohesion, and residence in an area with a shortage of health care professionals. Other covariates included median age and prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, smoking, and hyperlipidemia. Weighted scores for historical redlining (ie, the discriminatory housing policy in effect from 1934 to 1968) were computed using the mean proportion of original redlined territories overlapped on 2010 census tract boundaries in New York City. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Stroke prevalence was collected from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 500 Cities Project for adults 18 years and older from 2014 to 2018. RESULTS A total of 2117 census tracts were included in the analysis. After adjusting for SDOH and other relevant covariates, the historical redlining score was independently associated with a higher community-level stroke prevalence (odds ratio [OR], 1.02 [95% CI, 1.02-1.05]; P < .001). Social determinants of health that were positively associated with stroke prevalence included educational attainment (OR, 1.01 [95% CI, 1.01-1.01]; P < .001), poverty (OR, 1.01 [95% CI, 1.01-1.01]; P < .001), language barrier (OR, 1.00 [95% CI, 1.00-1.00]; P < .001), and health care professionals shortage (OR, 1.02 [95% CI, 1.00-1.04]; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This cross-sectional study found that historical redlining was associated with modern-day stroke prevalence in New York City independently of contemporary SDOH and community prevalence of some relevant cardiovascular risk factors.

Introduction: Metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a significant contributor to chronic liver disease on a global scale, encompassing a broad range of systemic impacts, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels are commonly utilized indicators of liver injury in this context. Despite the high prevalence of MAFLD among Hispanic/Latino populations, there is a scarcity of research focusing on this specific demographic. Aim: To investigate the relationship between liver disease, incident CVD, and mortality in a representative Hispanic/Latino population, using non-invasive markers. Methods: A total of 14,149 participants recruited between 2008-2011 in HCHS/SOL aged 18-74 years with no pre-existing CVD at study baseline were included in this study. The outcome of interest was a composite of adjudicated incident CVD and all-cause mortality. Participants who had liver function tests (LFTs) AST > 37 IU/mL or ALT > 40 IU/mL for men, and AST or ALT > 31 IU/mL for women were classified as having elevated LFTs. MAFLD was defined as a fatty liver index score >60 and: type 2 diabetes, body mass index>25 kg/m 2 or at least two metabolic risk abnormalities. Survey-weighted cox proportional hazards models estimated hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for our composite outcome by elevated LFTs. Interaction terms assessed the relationship between elevated LFTs and MAFLD. Results: The study population was 40 years old on average, 53.4% female and had 403 weighted CVD and all-cause mortality events. Elevated LFTs and MAFLD alone were not associated with incident CVD and all-cause mortality (HR: 1.24; CI: 0.89-1.71). MAFLD modified the relationship between elevated LFTs and CVD (P=0.04). Among those with MAFLD, elevated LFTs were not associated with CVD (HR: 1.01; CI:0.70-1.46), but among those without MAFLD, elevated LFTs were associated with CVD (HR: 2.05; CI:1.17-3.58). Conclusions: Among Hispanic/Latinos without MAFLD, elevated LFTs were associated with CVD and all-cause mortality. Additional research is needed to elucidate the relationship between liver disease and CVD in the Hispanic/Latino population.

Objectives: We sought to understand the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of emergency medicine (EM) physicians towards non-specific neurological conditions and the use of clinical decision support (CDS) to improve diagnostic accuracy. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews of EM physicians at four emergency departments (EDs) affiliated with a single US healthcare system. Interviews were conducted until thematic saturation was achieved. Conventional content analysis was used to identify themes related to EM physicians' perspectives on acute diagnostic neurology; directed content analysis was used to explore views regarding CDS. Each interview transcript was independently coded by two researchers using an iteratively refined codebook with consensus-based resolution of coding differences. Results: We identified two domains regarding diagnostic safety: (1) challenges unique to neurological complaints and (2) challenges in EM more broadly. Themes relevant to neurology included: (1) knowledge gaps and uncertainty, (2) skepticism about neurology, (3) comfort with basic as opposed to detailed neurological examination, and (4) comfort with non-neurological diseases. Themes relevant to diagnostic decision making in the ED included: (1) cognitive biases, (2) ED system/environmental issues, (3) patient barriers, (4) comfort with diagnostic uncertainty, and (5) concerns regarding diagnostic error identification and measurement. Most participating EM physicians were enthusiastic about the potential for well-designed CDS to improve diagnostic accuracy for non-specific neurological complaints. Conclusions: Physicians identified diagnostic challenges unique to neurological diseases as well as issues related more generally to diagnostic accuracy in EM. These physician-reported issues should be accounted for when designing interventions to improve ED diagnostic accuracy.

BACKGROUND:Treatment with aspirin plus clopidogrel, dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT), within 24 hours of high-risk transient ischemic attack (TIA) or minor stroke symptoms to eligible patients is recommended by national guidelines. Whether or not this treatment has been adopted by emergency medicine (EM) physicians is uncertain.METHODS:We conducted an online survey of EM physicians in the United States. The survey consisted of 13 multiple choice questions regarding physician characteristics, practice settings, and usual approach to TIA and minor stroke treatment. We report participant characteristics and use chi-squared tests to compare between groups.RESULTS:We included 162 participants in the final study analysis. 103 participants (64%) were in practice for >5 years and 96 (59%) were at nonacademic centers; all were EM board-certified or board-eligible. Only 9 (6%) participants reported that they would start DAPT for minor stroke and 8 (5%) reported that they would start DAPT after high-risk TIA. Aspirin alone was the selected treatment by 81 (50%) participants for minor stroke patients who presented within 24 hours of symptom onset and were not candidates for thrombolysis. For minor stroke, 69 (43%) participants indicated that they would defer medical management to consultants or another team. Similarly, 75 (46%) of participants chose aspirin alone to treat high-risk TIA; 74 (46%) reported they would defer medical management after TIA to consultants or another team.CONCLUSION:In a survey of EM physicians, we found that the reported rate of DAPT treatment for eligible patients with high-risk TIA and minor stroke was low.

Objective To explore factors associated with anticoagulation (AC) initiation after atrial fibrillation (AF) diagnosis. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Urban medical center. Patients Adults with emergency department (ED) diagnosis of new onset AF from 1/1/2017-1/1/2020 discharged home. Methods We compared patients initiated on AC, our primary outcome, to those not initiated on AC. Stroke, major bleeding, and AC initiation within 1 year of visit were secondary outcomes. We hypothesized that minority race and non-English language preference are associated with failure to initiate AC. Results Of 111 patients with AF, 88 met inclusion criteria. Mean age was 65 (SD 15); 47 (53%) were women. 49 (56%) patients were initiated on AC. Age (61 vs 68 years; P=.02), non-English language (28% vs 10%; P=.03), leaving ED against medical advice (AMA) (36% vs 14%; P=.04), and CHA2DS2-VASc score of 1 (41% vs 6%; P<=.001) were associated with no AC initiation. There were no associations between patient-reported race/ethnicity and AC. Cardiology consultation (83.67% vs 30.78%; P<.0001) and higher median CHA2DS2-VASc score (3[2-4]) vs. 2[1-4]; P=.047) were associated with AC. Of 73 patients with follow-up data at 1 year, 2 (8%) not initiated on AC had strokes, 2 (4%) initiated on AC had major bleeds, and 15 (62.5%) not initiated on AC in the ED subsequently were initiated on AC. Conclusion More than half of ED patients with new AF eligible for AC were initiated on it. Work to improve AC utilization among patients with new AF who left AMA from ED and those who prefer to communicate in a non-English language may be warranted.

Immune reconstitution during antiretroviral therapy has recently been shown to depend upon multiple factors at work in T-cell homeostasis, amongst which the reduction of thymus dysfunction and of immune hyperactivation is instrumental. The restoration of host defenses against opportunistic pathogens is, however, balanced by the poor immunity restored against HIV thus giving a satisfying link between antigen stimulation and the reconstitution of immune responses to pathogens.

Background: Treating high-risk transient ischemic attack (TIA) with dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) reduces subsequent ischemic stroke risk yet current rates of clopidogrel-aspirin treatment are uncertain. Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of consecutive TIA patients who presented to any of the four emergency departments (ED) of a single urban health system from 1/1/2018-3/1/2020. Medical record review was used to describe the cohort and assess clopidogrel-aspirin treatment. Patient eligibility for clopidogrel-aspirin was determined using relevant criteria from the Platelet-Oriented Inhibition in New TIA and Minor Ischemic Stroke (POINT) Trial. Comparisons among eligible patients who received versus did not receive clopidogrelaspirin were conducted using t-test, chi-squared, and Mann-Whitney as indicated. Results: We identified 248 TIA patients of whom 95 met eligibility criteria for clopidogrel-aspirin treatment. Among these 95 patients, mean age was 69.5 (SD: 12), 68.4% were women, andmedian ABCD(2) score was 5 (IQR: 4-6). A total of 26/95 (27.4%) eligible patients received clopidogrel-aspirin within 24 hours of symptom onset. Appropriate clopidogrel-aspirin use was associated with having a stroke code called upon ED arrival (88.5% vs. 34.8%; P<0.001), being evaluated by a vascular neurologist (88.5% vs. 21.1%; P<0.001), and not presenting to the community ED site wherein only a single patient received clopidogrel-aspirin. Conclusions: In a multisite, single health system study, nearly three-fourths of high-risk TIA patients eligible for clopidogrel-aspirin treatment did not receive it. Appropriate clopidogrel-aspirin use was highest among patients seen by vascular neurologists and lowest at the community ED, though under treatment was evident at all sites.

Acute Ischemic Stroke (AIS) in the young is increasing in prevalence and the largest subtype within this cohort is cryptogenic. To curb this trend, new ways of defining cryptogenic stroke and associated risk factors are needed. We aimed to gain insights into the presence or absence of cardiovascular risk factors in cases of cryptogenic stroke. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients aged 18–49 who presented to an urban tertiary care center with AIS. We manually collected predefined demographic, clinical, laboratory and radiological variables. Clinical risk phenotypes were determined using these variables through multivariate analysis of patients with the small and large vessel disease subtypes (vascular phenotype) and cardioembolic subtype (cardiac phenotype). The resultant phenotype models were applied to cases deemed cryptogenic. Within the 449 patients who met criteria, patients with small and large vessel disease (vascular phenotype) had higher rates of hypertension, intracranial atherosclerosis, and diabetes mellitus, and higher admission glucose, HbA1c, admission blood pressure, and cholesterol compared to the patients with cardioembolic AIS. The cardioembolic subgroup (cardiac phenotype) had significantly higher rates of congestive heart failure (CHF), rheumatic heart disease, atrial fibrillation, clotting disorders, left ventricular hypertrophy, larger left atrial sizes, lower ejection fractions, and higher B-type natriuretic peptide and troponin levels. Adjusted multivariate analysis produced six variables independently associated with the vascular phenotype (age, male sex, hemoglobin A1c, ejection fraction (EF), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and family history of AIS) and five independently associated with the cardiac phenotype (age, female sex, decreased EF, CHF, and absence of intracranial atherosclerosis). Applying these models to cryptogenic stroke cases yielded that 51.5% fit the vascular phenotype and 3.1% fit the cardiac phenotype. In our cohort, half of young patients with cryptogenic stroke fit the risk factor phenotype of small and large vessel strokes.

Introduction: Acute Ischemic Stroke (AIS) in the young is increasing in prevalence and the largest sub-type within this cohort is cryptogenic. The risk factors and etiologies for these strokes likely differ by socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic background. To curb this trend, new ways of defining cryptogenic stroke and its risk factors are needed that can be applied to different populations. We aimed to create such a framework using patients in one of the poorest and most diverse urban counties in the country: Bronx, NY. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of AIS patients aged 18-49 who presented to an urban tertiary care center. Stroke risk factor phenotypes were determined by multivariate analysis and resultant models were applied to cryptogenic stroke cases. Results: A total 449 patients met inclusion criteria. The mean age was 41, 49% were women, 39% were Black, and 32% were Hispanic. 133 patients had strokes due to small and large vessel disease (vascular phenotype); these patients had higher rates of hypertension, intracranial atherosclerosis, and diabetes mellitus, and higher admission glucose, HbA1c, admission blood pressure, and cholesterol compared to the patients with cardioembolic AIS. The 69 patients with strokes due to cardioembolism (cardiac phenotype) had significantly higher rates of congestive heart failure (CHF), rheumatic heart disease, atrial fibrillation, clotting disorders, left ventricular hypertrophy, larger left atrial sizes, lower ejection fractions, and higher B-type natriuretic peptide and troponin levels. There were no differences in stroke subtype by race or ethnicity. Adjusted multivariate analysis produced 6 variables independently associated with the vascular phenotype (age, male sex, hemoglobin A1c, EF, LDL cholesterol, and family history of AIS) and 5 independently associated with the cardiac phenotype (age, female sex, decreased EF, CHF, and absence of intracranial atherosclerosis). Applying these models to 97 cryptogenic stroke cases yielded that 51.5% fit the vascular phenotype and 3.1% fit the cardiac phenotype. Conclusion: In our cohort of young patients in a low-resource, diverse urban community, half of cryptogenic cases fit the risk factor phenotype of small and large vessel strokes.

Background Accurate diagnosis of patients with transient or minor neurological events can be challenging. Recent studies suggest that advanced neuroimaging can improve diagnostic accuracy in low‐risk patients with transient or minor neurological symptoms, but a cost‐effective emergency department diagnostic evaluation strategy remains uncertain. Methods and Results We constructed a decision‐analytic model to evaluate 2 diagnostic evaluation strategies for patients with low‐risk transient or minor neurological symptoms: (1) obtain advanced neuroimaging (magnetic resonance imaging brain and magnetic resonance angiography head and neck) on every patient or (2) current emergency department standard‐of‐care clinical evaluation with basic neuroimaging. Main probability variables were: proportion of patients with true ischemic events, strategy specificity and sensitivity, and recurrent stroke rate. Direct healthcare costs were included. We calculated incremental cost‐effectiveness ratios, conducted sensitivity analyses, and evaluated various diagnostic test parameters primarily using a 1‐year time horizon. Cost‐effectiveness standards would be met if the incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio was less than willingness to pay. We defined willingness to pay as $100 000 US dollars per quality‐adjusted life year. Our primary and sensitivity analyses found that the advanced neuroimaging strategy was more cost‐effective than emergency department standard of care. The incremental effectiveness of the advanced neuroimaging strategy was slightly less than the standard‐of‐care strategy, but the standard‐of‐care strategy was more costly. Potentially superior diagnostic approaches to the modeled advanced neuroimaging strategy would have to be >92% specific, >70% sensitive, and cost less than or equal to standard‐of‐care strategy’s cost. Conclusions Obtaining advanced neuroimaging on emergency department patient with low‐risk transient or minor neurological symptoms was the more cost‐effective strategy in our model.

OBJECTIVE:Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is protean in its manifestations, affecting nearly every organ system. However, nervous system involvement and its effect on disease outcome are poorly characterized. The objective of this study was to determine whether neurologic syndromes are associated with increased risk of inpatient mortality.METHODS:A total of 581 hospitalized patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, neurologic involvement, and brain imaging were compared to hospitalized non-neurologic patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Four patterns of neurologic manifestations were identified: acute stroke, new or recrudescent seizures, altered mentation with normal imaging, and neuro-COVID-19 complex. Factors present on admission were analyzed as potential predictors of in-hospital mortality, including sociodemographic variables, preexisting comorbidities, vital signs, laboratory values, and pattern of neurologic manifestations. Significant predictors were incorporated into a disease severity score. Patients with neurologic manifestations were matched with patients of the same age and disease severity to assess the risk of death.RESULTS:A total of 4,711 patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were admitted to one medical system in New York City during a 6-week period. Of these, 581 (12%) had neurologic issues of sufficient concern to warrant neuroimaging. These patients were compared to 1,743 non-neurologic patients with COVID-19 matched for age and disease severity admitted during the same period. Patients with altered mentation (n = 258, p = 0.04, odds ratio [OR] 1.39, confidence interval [CI] 1.04-1.86) or radiologically confirmed stroke (n = 55, p = 0.001, OR 3.1, CI 1.65-5.92) had a higher risk of mortality than age- and severity-matched controls.CONCLUSIONS:The incidence of altered mentation or stroke on admission predicts a modest but significantly higher risk of in-hospital mortality independent of disease severity. While other biomarker factors also predict mortality, measures to identify and treat such patients may be important in reducing overall mortality of COVID-19.