TY - JOUR
TI - Duration of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in cryptogenic stroke is not associated with stroke severity and early outcomes
AU - Liantinioti, C.
AU - Tympas, K.
AU - Katsanos, A.H.
AU - Parissis, J.
AU - Chondrogianni, M.
AU - Zompola, C.
AU - Papadimitropoulos, G.
AU - Ioakeimidis, M.
AU - Triantafyllou, S.
AU - Roussopoulou, A.
AU - Voumvourakis, K.
AU - Lekakis, J.
AU - Filippatos, G.
AU - Stefanis, L.
AU - Tsivgoulis, G.
JO - Journal of the Neurological Sciences
PY - 2017
VL - 376
TODO - null
SP - 191-195
PB - Elsevier B.V.
SN - 0022-510X
TODO - 10.1016/j.jns.2017.03.038
TODO - adult;  anticoagulant therapy;  Article;  cerebrovascular accident;  disease duration;  disease severity;  electrocardiography;  female;  follow up;  functional status assessment;  Holter monitoring;  hospitalization;  human;  major clinical study;  male;  middle aged;  outcome assessment;  paroxysmal atrial fibrillation;  priority journal;  prospective study;  risk factor;  sinus rhythm;  atrial fibrillation;  cerebrovascular accident;  complication;  meta analysis;  observational study;  severity of illness index;  time factor;  treatment outcome, Atrial Fibrillation;  Female;  Humans;  Male;  Middle Aged;  Observational Studies as Topic;  Prospective Studies;  Severity of Illness Index;  Stroke;  Time Factors;  Treatment Outcome
TODO - The current definition of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) requires an arbitrary cut-off of > 30s, but in clinical practice cryptogenic stroke (CS) patients with PAF duration of ≤ 30s are not usually excluded from anticoagulation therapy. We sought to evaluate the clinical relevance of short-duration (≤ 30s) PAF in CS. Consecutive CS patients with no prior AF history and sinus-rhythm on baseline electrocardiography (ECG) were prospectively evaluated over a three-year period. Baseline stroke severity was assessed by NIHSS-scores. All patients underwent 24-hour Holter-ECG during hospitalization. ECG recordings were analyzed by two blinded investigators using dedicated analysis software. Total time in AF was calculated as the sum of each individual AF episode for patients with multiple episodes during monitoring. Patients were dichotomized in two groups using PAF total duration (≤ 30s & > 30s). Early recurrent stroke and favorable functional outcome (FFO, defined as mRS-grades of 0–1) were evaluated during a three-month follow-up period. A total of 184 patients (66% men, mean age 57 ± 11 years) with CS (median NIHSS-score 4, IQR: 2–7) were evaluated. PAF of any duration was detected in 23 individuals (13%; 95%CI: 8%–18%). Among these patients the prevalence of brief PAF was 57% (n = 13). The two groups did not differ (p > 0.2) in terms of demographics, vascular risk factors and NIHSS-scores. Early recurrent stroke and FFO rates were similar (p > 0.4) in the two groups. Duration of PAF is not associated with baseline stroke severity and early outcomes in patients with CS and should not influence anticoagulation decision in these patients. © 2017
ER -