Incidence of early poststroke seizures during reperfusion therapies in patients with acute ischemic stroke: An observational prospective study (TESI study: "Trombolisi/Trombectomia e crisi Epilettiche precoci nello Stroke Ischemico")

Introduction: The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate the occurrence of early poststroke seizures (within 7 days of stroke) in patients undergoing reperfusion therapies (intravenous rtPA [recombinant tissue plasminogen activator] and/or endovascular thrombectomy) in comparison to those not undergoing these procedures. Methods: Patients aged >= 18 years with acute ischemic stroke admitted in five Italian centers were prospectively recruited. Clinical data, details on stroke type and etiology, stroke treatment, and radiological datawere collected. The frequency of early poststroke seizures was assessed, and predictive factors for their occurrence were evaluated. Results: Five hundred and sixteen patients (262 in the reperfusion therapies group) were included. Stroke severity on admission and at discharge was higher among patients undergoing reperfusion therapies. Ten patients (3.8%) undergoing reperfusion therapies and 6 (2.3%) of those not receiving these treatments experienced early poststroke seizures (p= 0.45). Therewere no differences in any of the baseline characteristics between patients experiencing and those not experiencing early seizures. Conclusion: The incidence of early poststroke seizureswas overall rare, and no significant differences emerged between patients receiving and those not receiving reperfusion therapies. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.