CLINICAL PRESENTATION AND FREQUENCY OF POTENTIAL SOURCES OF EMBOLISM IN ACUTE ISCHEMIC STROKE PATIENTS - THE EXPERIENCE OF THE ROME ACUTE STROKE REGISTRY

Using data extracted from the Registry of the Stroke Unit located in t he Department of Neurological Sciences of the University of Rome, we e valuated whether a sudden clinical onset was significantly associated with the embolic origin of stroke. For this purpose, territorial infar cts associated with a congruous intracranial arterial occlusion detect ed by acute angiography were defined as embolic. Cardiac or arterial s ources of emboli were classified as absent, low risk or high risk acco rding to established criteria. Out of 80 studied patients, 53 (66%) we re classified as having an embolic stroke, whereas 27 (34%) did not sa tisfy the criteria for intracranial embolism. Sudden clinical onset wa s as prevalent in patients with embolic stroke as in their counterpart (68% vs. 70%). There was a statistically significant trend for an inc reasing frequency of embolic strokes in the three groups with no sourc e of emboli, low-risk and high-risk source of emboli (respectively 35, 50 and 85%). Mode of onset does not appear to be accurate enough to i dentify patients with or without embolic stroke at the bedside in the very early phase of acute stroke. Ancillary investigations might be ne eded for the correct therapeutic choice in stroke patients.