ArticleBMJ open2015
A retrospective pilot study of correlation of cerebral augmentation effects of external counterpulsation with functional outcome after acute ischaemic stroke.
Article in BMJ open, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Evaluation of enhanced external counterpulsation with different modes on acute hemodynamic effects.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- Cerebral Augmentation Effect Induced by External Counterpulsation Is Not Related to Impaired Dynamic Cerebral Autoregulation in Ischemic Stroke.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Article
- Hemodynamic effects of enhanced external counterpulsation on cerebral arteries: a multiscale study.Biomedical engineering online · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveExternal counterpulsation (ECP) is a non-invasive method used to augment cerebral blood flow of patients with ischaemic stroke via induced hypertension. We aimed to explore the correlation between the cerebral blood flow augmentation effects induced by ECP and clinical outcome after acute ischaemic stroke.
methodsWe retrospectively analysed our ECP registry of patients with ischaemic stroke who were enrolled within 7 days after stroke onset. Bilateral middle cerebral arteries of patients were monitored using transcranial Doppler (TCD). Flow velocity changes before, during and after ECP were, respectively, recorded for 3 min. The cerebral augmentation index (CAI) was the increase in percentage of the middle cerebral artery mean flow velocity during ECP compared with baseline. TCD data were analysed based on the side ipsilateral or contralateral to the infarct. The modified Rankin Scale (mRS) (good outcome: mRS 0∼2; poor outcome: mRS 3∼6) was evaluated 6 months after the index stroke.
results72 patients were included (mean age, 63.8±10.7 years; 87.5% males). At month 6 after stroke onset, univariate analysis showed that the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale at recruitment was significantly higher and ECP therapy duration was longer in the poor outcome group, while the ipsilateral CAI was significantly lower in the good outcome group than that in the poor outcome group (3.71±4.94 vs 7.73±7.66, p=0.044). Multivariate logistic regression showed that ipsilateral CAI was independently correlated with an unfavourable functional outcome after adjusting for confounding factors.
conclusionsThe higher degree of cerebral blood flow velocity augmentation on the side ipsilateral to the infarct induced by ECP is independently correlated with an unfavourable functional outcome after acute ischaemic stroke.
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