Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Lori C Jordan

Publications and source records attributed to Lori C Jordan.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Safety of cerebral digital subtraction angiography in children: complication rate analysis in 241 consecutive diagnostic angiograms.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Catheter-based cerebral angiography remains an important diagnostic tool in the pediatric population, particularly considering the currently growing interest in diagnosing and treating cerebrovascular disorders in children. There are no recent estimates of the complication rate associated with modern diagnostic digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in the pediatric population. The purpose of this study was to estimate the rate of complications occurring during cerebral angiography in children. METHODS: Data from 241 consecutive pediatric cerebral angiograms performed at a single institution were entered into an institutional review board-approved database. Information on patient demographics, DSA indication, neurovascular diagnosis, and intra procedural and postprocedural complications was collected. RESULTS: Our population included 115 boys and 90 girls, with age ranging from 1 week to 18 years (mean+/-SD, 12+/-5 years). All angiograms were technically successful. No intraprocedural complication was noted; in particular, there was no occurrence of iatrogenic vessel injury (dissection) and no transient or permanent neurological deficit secondary to a thromboembolic event. One child with a complex dural arteriovenous fistula experienced a fatal intracranial rehemorrhage secondary to a posterior fossa varix rupture 3 hours after completion of an uneventful diagnostic angiogram. The rates of intraprocedural and postprocedural complications were therefore 0.0% (95% CI, 0.0% to 1.4%) and 0.4% (95% CI, 0.012% to 2.29%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of immediate complications occurring during diagnostic cerebral angiography in children is very low. No intraprocedural complication was documented in the reported series. DSA performed by experienced angiographers is a safe procedure that can provide critical diagnostic information.

Adolescent↗

Stroke in childhood.

BACKGROUND: Childhood stroke is increasingly recognized as an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Risk factors for stroke in childhood are different than those traditionally seen in adults. REVIEW SUMMARY: This review summarizes, in brief, the epidemiology, risk factors, evaluation, treatment, outcome, and recurrence risk of children with arterial ischemic stroke (AIS). Areas of controversy and those that require further study are highlighted. Tables summarizing important points of the history, physical examination, and diagnostic evaluation of AIS are provided. CONCLUSIONS: Children with stroke should be carefully evaluated for risk factors and possible etiology of stroke. At the present time, treatment is based upon extrapolation from the adult literature and expert opinion, as no evidence-based guidelines exist, except in sickle cell anemia. International, multicenter trials are beginning and should provide some answers over the next few years.

Child↗

Disorders of speech and language: aphasia, apraxia and dysarthria.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: We review recent important papers pertaining to acquired aphasia, apraxia of speech and dysarthria with special attention to clinically significant work published in the last 12 months. RECENT FINDINGS: The role of the contralateral inferior frontal gyrus in language recovery after stroke is controversial, but is an area of active research, particularly in functional imaging studies. Recent treatment studies in poststroke aphasia have shown that intensity of language therapy may be more important than the method of therapy. Some studies have indicated that amphetamines, piracetam and repetitive transcortical magnetic stimulation may be effective adjuncts to speech and language therapy. Treatment studies for poststroke dysarthria indicate that speech supplementation strategies may be effective and deserve further study. SUMMARY: Recent studies of aphasia provide clues regarding language recovery poststroke, but further studies of the role of the ipsi and contralateral inferior frontal gyrus are necessary, and should be longitudinal. There are relatively few recent studies on the treatment of acquired disorders of speech and language, other than poststroke aphasia.

Aphasia↗

Primary hemorrhagic stroke in children with sickle cell disease is associated with recent transfusion and use of corticosteroids.

OBJECTIVES: Primary hemorrhagic stroke is an uncommon complication of sickle cell disease, with reported mortality rates of 24% to 65%. Most reported cases are in adults; little is known about its occurrence in children. Proposed risk factors include previous ischemic stroke, aneurysms, low steady-state hemoglobin, high steady-state leukocyte count, acute chest syndrome, and hypertransfusion. We performed a retrospective case-control study to evaluate risk and prognostic factors for primary hemorrhagic stroke among children with sickle cell disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Case subjects (sickle cell disease and primary hemorrhagic stroke) and control subjects (sickle cell disease and ischemic stroke) were identified at 2 children's hospitals from January 1979 to December 2004 by reviewing divisional records and the discharge databases. RESULTS: We identified 15 case subjects (mean age: 10.4 +/- 1.3 years) and 29 control subjects (mean age: 5.2 +/- 0.4 years). An increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke was associated with a history of hypertension and recent (in the last 14 days) transfusion, treatment with corticosteroids, and possibly nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs. Average blood pressures at well visits (adjusted for age and gender) were similar between the 2 groups, suggesting that hypertension was intermittent. CONCLUSIONS: In this group of children with sickle cell disease, hemorrhagic stroke was associated with a history of hypertension or antecedent events including transfusion or treatment with corticosteroids. Improved understanding of risk and prognostic factors, especially those that are modifiable, may help prevent this devastating complication in children with sickle cell disease.

Adolescent↗

Aphasia and right hemisphere syndromes in stroke.

This article highlights the latest findings regarding the effect of acute and chronic stroke on behavior, specifically left hemispheric injury causing aphasia and right hemispheric injury causing neglect, visual-spatial problems, and other cognitive syndromes. We review papers published in the past 2 years pertaining to localization, assessment, recovery, treatment, and outcomes of aphasia and right hemisphere cognitive syndromes following stroke.

Aphasia↗