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Background: Data concerning stroke awareness and factors associated with time of hospital arrival for acute stroke patients in Thailand are still lacking., Objective: To assess stroke awareness and to identify factors influencing hospital arrival time after an acute stroke., Material and Method: This is aprospective study comprising consecutive acute stroke patients admitted in Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand between August 2010 and December 2011. Demographic data, stroke severity using the NIHSS, diagnosis and stroke awareness questionnaire were collected., Results: Of 217 acute stroke patients, mean age was 66 ± 13.7 years. Mean stroke severity was 10 ± 7.6. Patients arrived at the Emergency Department within 4.5 hours (early hospital arrival: EHA) in 38.2% of the cases, 16.6% by ambulance. Only 34.6% of patients recognized that they were having stroke. Factors associated with EHA were 1) stroke awareness (OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.07-3.60, p = 0.030), 2) arrival by ambulance (OR 2.23, 95% CI 1.03-4.81, p = 0.042), and 3) NIHSS >15 (OR 2.26, 95% CI 1.17-4.35, p = 0.015)., Conclusion: Only one-third of patients were aware of stroke symptoms. Only one in six patients used emergency transportation. Public educational campaign is needed to increase the community awareness of stroke warning symptoms and the urgent emergency medical services.

Background: The Canadian Neurological Scale (CNS) is one of the most reliable stroke severity assessment scales. There is a strong need for a simple and well validated stroke severity assessment scale among Thais., Objective: To translate and perform a reliability and validity study of the Canadian Neurological Scale, Thai version (CNS-T)., Material and Method: Forward and backward translations of the original CNS version were independently performed. The final version of the CNS-T was prospectively tested for reliability and validity in acute ischemic stroke setting. Consecutive series of acute stroke patients were assessed by one of the six raters from three different types of healthcare providers: 2 stroke nurses, 2 internal medicine residents and 2 stroke fellows. Each patient was independently assessed twice at 3 weeks interval using video tape by all raters. Extent of infarction was measured by MRI lesion volume. Clinical outcome at 3 months was measured using modified Rankin Score (mRS). Correlation among the CNS-T and 3-mo mRS and MRI lesion volume were assessed. Inter and intra-observer reliabilities were evaluated., Results: A total of 38 patients were enrolled. Median CNS-T was 8.5. Intra-observer reliability demonstrated a high agreement with an intraclass correlation (ICC) of 0.99, 0.97, 0.98, 0.96, 0.93 and 0.98 for 2 stroke fellows, 2 internal medicine residents and 2 stroke nurses respectively. Inter-observer reliability between the 6 raters was excellent: ICC 0.87 (95% CI; 0.81-0.92). The Spearman rank correlation coefficient was -0.55 (p = 0.001) between the initial CNS-T score versus initial MRI lesion volume and -0.61 (p < 0.001) between the initial CNS-T score versus 3-mo mRS., Conclusion: The CNS-T can be performed by trained nurses, internists and neurologists with an excellent reliability. The CNS-T is a valid and simple clinical tool for stroke severity assessment among Thais.

Background: Data concerning perioperative stroke incidence and risk factors are lacking in Thailand., Objective: To study incidence and risk factors of perioperative stroke in Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand., Material and Method: The authors conducted a nested case-control study between July 2007 and June 2010. Consecutive perioperative stroke cases were compared with age-matched controls that had undergone surgery without having a stroke at a 1:4 ratio. Patients' characteristics, co-morbidities, clinical manifestation, stroke subtypes, duration, and types of surgery were collected. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with a stroke during perioperative period., Results: Sixty-six patients with perioperative stroke from 99,283 that underwent surgery were included. This resulted in an incidence of 66.5/100,000. Men comprised 65.2%. Mean age of stroke patients was 66.6-years-old. Age-match controls included 264 consecutive patients who underwent surgery without having a stroke. A multivariate analysis showed that male sex (adjusted OR 3.1, p = 0.003), surgical types: open heart surgery (adjusted OR 54.3, p < 0.0001), vascular surgery (adjusted OR 20.6, p < 0.0001) and endovascular procedure (adjusted OR 15.4, p < 0.0001), emergency surgery (adjusted OR 8.3, p < 0.0001), the presence of diabetes mellitus (adjusted OR 2.6, p = 0.018), chronic kidney disease (adjusted OR 2.6, p = 0.027), and coronary artery disease (adjusted OR 0.4, p = 0.039) were associated with perioperative stroke., Conclusion: Incidence of perioperative stroke was higher than a previous report. Male, type of surgery, emergency operation, diabetes mellitus, and chronic kidney disease were risk factors of perioperative stroke.

Background: The Canadian Neurological Scale (CNS) and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) are among the most reliable stroke severity assessment scales. The CNS requires less extensive neurological evaluation and is quicker and simpler to administer., Objective: Our aim was to develop and validate a simple conversion model from the CNS to the NIHSS., Methods: A conversion model was developed using data from a consecutive series of acute-stroke patients who were scored using both scales. The model was then validated in an external dataset in which all patients were prospectively assessed for stroke severity using both scales by different observers which consisted of neurology residents or stroke fellows., Results: In all, 168 patients were included in the model development, with a median age of 73 years (20-94). Men constituted 51.8%. The median NIHSS score was 6 (0-31). The median CNS score was 8.5 (1.5-11.5). The relationship between CNS and NIHSS could be expressed as the formula: NIHSS = 23 - 2 x CNS. A cohort of 350 acute-stroke patients with similar characteristics was used for model validation. There was a highly significant positive correlation between the observed and predicted NIHSS score (r = 0.87, p < 0.001). The predicted NIHSS score was on average 0.61 higher than the observed NIHSS score (95% CI = 0.31-0.91)., Conclusions: The CNS can be reliably converted to the NIHSS using a simple conversion formula: NIHSS = 23 - 2 x CNS. This finding may have a practical impact by permitting reliable comparisons with NIHSS-based evaluations and simplifying the routine assessment of acute-stroke patients in more diverse settings., (Copyright (c) 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Background: The National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) is a well validated stroke severity assessment scale. The scale is used to assess neurological deficits, progression and degree of recovery in acute stroke settings. To date, no Thai version exists., Objective: This study aimed to adapt and validate a Thai version of the NIHSS (NIHSS-T)., Material and Method: A cross-cultural adaptation of the NIHSS was developed according to the methods recommended by the International Quality of Life Assessment Project Group. Forward and backward translations were performed. A final version of the NIHSS-T was validated against initial MRI infarction volume and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at 3 months in a consecutive series of acute stroke patients. The patients were prospectively evaluated by 3 different types of health care providers: 2 stroke fellows, 2 internists, and 2 stroke nurses. Mean NIHSS-T scores from all raters were used in the analysis., Results: The study included 32 acute ischemic stroke patients with a mean age (+/- SD) of 64.53 +/- 14.97 years of age. Men comprised 71.9%. Mean NIHSS-T score (+/- SD) was 7.49 +/- 7.02. Intra-observer reliability demonstrated a high agreement with an intraclass correlation (ICC) of 0.98, 0.98, 0.96, 0.98, 0.90 and 0.98 for 2 stroke fellows, 2 internists and 2 stroke nurses respectively. Inter-observer reliability between 6 raters was excellent, i.e.; ICC, 0.99 (0.98, 0.99). Spearman rank correlation coefficients between the initial NIHSS-T score versus initial MRI lesion volume and mRS at 3 months were 0.53 and 0.69 with a p-value of 0.002 and < 0.001 respectively., Conclusion: The Thai version of NIHSS is valid for assessing acute stroke severity. The scale is also reliable when administered in a Thai-speaking setting by trained healthcare professionals.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of stroke and its risk factors in Thai diabetic patients who attended the diabetes clinics of university and tertiary-care hospitals., Material and Method: A cross-sectional, multi-center hospital-based diabetes registry was carried out at diabetes clinics of 11 university and tertiary-care hospitals. Demographic data, clinical characteristics, common drugs used and laboratory parameters were analyzed for prevalence and risk factors associated with stroke., Results: The prevalence of stroke in the patients studied was 3.5%. Most of the patients were type 2 diabetes and had ischemic stroke. One of the risk factors associated with stroke was age greater than 60 years, and the risk appeared to be highest if the patients' age was greater than 70 years (adjust OR = 3.29, p = 0.012). Other risk factors included male sex, systolic blood pressure of > or =140 mmHg, use of oral hypoglycemic agents, lipid lowering agents and aspirin. There was no association between stroke and duration of diabetes, occupation, educational level, BMI, smoking, alcohol drinking, diastolic blood pressure, use of antihypertensive drugs or insulin, glycemic control, lipid profiles and kidney function., Conclusion: Ischemic stroke was common among Thai patients with diabetes especially in the elderly. The present result emphasizes the relationship between level of systolic blood pressure and the occurrence of stroke. Optimal blood pressure control should be underscored in caring for diabetic patients.