Acute Stroke

Question: Where could i find journals on health teaching for acute stroke patients? Research articles, Published journals on health teaching, in application with Clinical pathway.

Answer: medline.com

Question: How high can BUN/creatinine be before it is considered Acute renal failure. Following a stroke, the BUN is 66? and Creatine is about 3. This 5 days post stroke.

Answer: Your BUN should not be above 20, and creatinine should not be about 1.3. Sounds like classic ARF(acute renal failure) to me. If it is acute, then usually while as an inpatient the doctor can try various things to reduce this, but if left alone, it could develop into total renal failure and cause you to be on dialysis. but if you just had a stroke, it sounds like that there are more important things to be managing when it comes to your healthcare. you can live with non functional kidneys, you cannot live with a non functional brain.

Question: Why does an acute stroke affect a person's gag reflex?

Answer: Damage done to the 9th and 10th cranial nerves, which are Glossopharyngeal and Vagus nerves, together they control a persons swallowing, gag reflex, and speech.

Question: do you know about using plavix 10 tab in acute stroke?

Answer: Please read the following before switching over to Pelvix. Law.com Plavix Makers Sued for Ignoring Drug's Health Risks Friday December 22, 2:52 am ET Charles Toutant, New Jersey Law Journal Plavix, a popular blood-thinning drug, is the target of multiple lawsuits by users and third-party payers, who charge that manufacturers Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis US marketed the drug in disregard of its potential health risks. In five suits filed Monday in federal court in Trenton, N.J., and two filed in October, the plaintiffs claim that the manufacturers promoted Plavix and aspirin together as a regimen for the prevention of blood clots, when safety of that therapy was unknown. The plaintiffs say the manufacturers "over-promoted" the drug and were twice ordered by the Food and Drug Administration to withdraw ads that made overly broad claims. Plavix was the second most widely prescribed drug in the world in 2005, with U.S. sales of $5.9 billion, according to the pharmaceutical market research firm IMS of Fairfield, Conn. A study published on April 20 in the New England Journal of Medicine said Plavix with aspirin was no more effective than aspirin alone, and was harmful in patients with multiple risk factors, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol. "Despite the growing body of scientific knowledge that the four-dollar Plavix pill was not much better than a four-cent-a-day aspirin, defendants kept promoting it to the public and physicians, using hyperbole and outright falsification in the process," the plaintiffs claim. The suits also charge that Plavix caused serious and sometimes fatal injuries. Among the plaintiffs is Eloise LaBarr of Bonifay, Fla., whose husband Edward began taking Plavix with aspirin after bypass surgery with a stent placement to repair a blocked artery in November 2002. In December 2004, he collapsed after suffering a serious intracranial bleeding injury and remained on life support for two days before being pronounced dead, with a subdural hematoma and "Plavix therapy" listed as the causes on his death certificate, according to the suit. Another plaintiff, Patricia Begley of Crystal Lake, Ill., claims she took Plavix and aspirin from December 2003 until January 2006 after a stent implantation. She stopped after being rushed to the hospital for internal bleeding, necessitating a blood transfusion, a week's stay in the hospital and another week in a nursing home, according to her suit. The suits include counts of negligent misrepresentation, defective design and manufacturing, breach of implied warranty, failure to warn and violations of the New Jersey Product Liability Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:58C-1 et seq., and the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, N.J.S.A. 56.8-1 et seq. The plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive damages. One of the suits filed in October is a putative class action on behalf of third-party payers, such as HMOs. The cases are assigned to U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson. On Dec. 12, U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne Bongiovanni granted the defendants an extension until Jan. 9 to file answers to the October suits. The suits are in New Jersey based on diversity jurisdiction. Bristol-Myers Squibb is headquartered in New York with back-office operations in Princeton. Sanofi-Aventis US is a Bridgewater, N.J.,-based subsidiary of a French drug maker. The two companies produce Plavix as a joint venture. The suits are filed by the same law firms, Miller & Associates in Alexandria, Va., and Hersh & Hersh in San Francisco. Mark Burton Jr., of Hersh & Hersh, says he knows of only one other Plavix suit to date but believes many more will be filed soon by his firm and others. He notes that many of the plaintiffs are relatively young. "We actually have quite a few clients in their 40s and 50s. These aren't 70- and 80-year-olds that are being targeted," he says, adding that this will make causation of injuries easier to prove. Michele DiMartino of Miller & Associates' Bala Cynwyd, Pa., office is local counsel.

Question: I've a case - A pt. had acute ischaemic stroke and fell unconscious. It caused damage to the nurones and the pt. developed hemiparesis on left side. I know about the decussation and all but not sure which areas are affected primarily. The pt. is believed to have obstruction in common carotid. I wanna know about the odds of full recovery. Also enlighten me about any other facts of hemiparesis. The pt. also developed epilepsy since then. Does this co relate in any sense? You can explain what happened to the pt. and how this condition developed. The pt. has spastic hemiparesis. Can also explain in medical terminology. Dose'nt matter. But do explain everything. PS: I'm just a begginer. Don't know about all this in great detail. I will be very thankful if You could explain it in detail.

Answer: Location-- Right upper motor neuron CVA anterior to the Fissure of Rolando. Spasticity develops when the lesion is UMN, and flaccidity is due to a lesion in the LMN areas. Obstruction in the common carotid is compensated for by the Circle of Willis. As you know, there are 2 carotids. The plaque responsible for the ischemia may have originated in the blockage, or there may have been an intravascular clot formed in situ due to a narrowed artery. Epilepsy does occur as a sequella of stroke, particularly if it is in the temporal lobe. Hemiparesis has a relatively poor prognosis for full motor return; hemiplegia does not. As far a a full recovery is concerned, it really depends on the site and size of the lesion and the patient's motivation. One of the goals of the occupational therapist will be to reduce tone in the affected limb. Patients with right-sided cortical lesions have cognitive problems, such as dressing apraxia, anosagnosia, neglect of the left hemispace (all objects, persons, written material, and space beyond midline), visual field deficits, proprioceptive problems, and poor judgement and insight, among others. As far as the deficits in function go, ADL's would be affected, as would transfers and bed mobility, leaving the patient with high risk for decubitus ulcers. Contractures of the arm, leg and hand will develop without proper splinting. I hope that answered your questions!

Question: association of hsCRP in acute ishemic brain stroke?

Answer: You should be asking this question in a doctors forum. If you ask here you may get purely rubbish answers

Question: can a person (age:19) get a heart stroke due to acute lymphoblastic leukemia...diaganosed 5 years b4...?

Answer: Its very possible. Need to check with a doctor to be certain.

Question: about 80% of acute strokes are due to cerebral haemorage?

Answer: No. The most common cause of a stroke if from blockage of an artery(clot or embolus.)

Question: What is more frustrating than doctors who can tell you NOTHING? My 82 year old dad is confused--at times not lucid at all.He is in the hospital,and the doctors are running all kinds of tests,and have for 2 days now. Still they do not know why this is happening.The CAT scan showed no acute stroke...they are doing an MRI tomorrow. He is aggitated and confused.I try to comfort him and most of the time he just wants to be left alone.This is not like him at all. Stroke?Dementia?Infection? The not knowing is tearing me apart. Can anyone offer me any words of advice please? Thank you.

Answer: I'm sorry that your doctors are not communicating well with you. I'm sure that they are busy and that they are frustrated because they haven't found out what is the matter. Perhaps if you could pester the nursing staff into getting one of the doctors (even the junior of the team) to spend a little time and answer your questions - that might satisfy you a little more. Some of the questions you should be asking are: After 2 days of testing I'm sure they have eliminated most of the usual suspects ... They've done a urine test - was there any urinary infection? They've done a chest x-ray - was there any chest infection? They've done a full blood count - was the white cell count up? (WBC are infection fighting cells and increased numbers indicates infection or inflammation but can be tricky because elderly folk can have bad infections but not raise a good WBC response) When they examine him - are they suspicious of any other places where he could have infection? Tonsils Heart (- does he have a heart murmur, splinter haemorrhages) Joints Bones (including Spine) Brain Are they doing the MRI to look and see if he has a viral infection in the brain? What are they looking for? Have they done a lumbar puncture (spinal tap)? Do they think the condition is NON-infective?

Question: Do stroke patients undergo this? My father suffered stroke 4 yrs back. He was recovering fine, for almost 1 yr after stroke. Then he started getting acute leg pain, burning sensation and feeling that someone is pricking with needles. Also he complains of heaviness in legs. He has left active physiotherapy for almost 1 yr now. He has literally given up. Do you know anyone with similar symptoms or have any advice or cure. Help would be hugely appreciated.

Answer: I have worked with many stroke patients. It sounds like maybe the nerves in his legs are getting some signals. I am wondering how much movement he has. Was his leg ever totally flaccid (limp). Usually the return of muscles go through specific stages. After 4 years though is unusual. Usually the first 3 months is when you see the most progress and then up to about a year. There are meds he can take for the neuralgia though. Talk to the doctor or physical therapist. Good luck.