United States: Treating a stroke patient’s blood sugar level when clot-busting drugs are administered is powerful and might increase the chance of survival after the health crisis, the new trial confirms.
Patients with a high blood sugar level were observed to be at a greater risk of a brain bleed after the clots were busted by hemorrhagic reopened of the blocked brain arteries, according to research.
Dr. Andrew Southerland, the lead researcher and a neurologist with the University of Virginia Health in Richmond, VA, said, “These data suggest that more focus and research is needed on the management of high blood sugar in the treatment of stroke patients, particularly those with higher risk, more severe strokes,” as the US News reported.
More about the study
The trial concerned 63 percent of the participants, who were all given clot-busting drugs as a form of treatment. The data analysis was based on 1,112 individuals who participated in the study. Out of that, more than 75 percent were those patients who had type 2 diabetes.
The findings of the study were published in the journal Neurology on April 16.
The findings of the study
Almost half of one group who had taken clot-buster treatment were randomly assigned to receive intense insulin administration as well as follow treatment to manage blood sugar levels intensely.
High blood sugar (hyperglycemia) after clot-busting agents may increase the risk of bleeding within the brain of these patients, according to the published findings. The result was really staggering; a 10-point increase in the brainchildren with average blood sugar yielded eight times as high a risk of brain bleeding.
What’s more significant is that the lower a patient’s blood sugar might have been, and if the clot-busting therapy had its effects sooner after a patient had a stroke, the better the results were.
However, it did not produce a significant systemic effect on the risk of a cerebral hemorrhagic accident, as the authors mentioned.
Southerland said, “One of the most important things patients can do to decrease their risk of stroke, particularly among diabetics, is work with their doctors and lifestyle to manage their blood sugar,” as the US News reported.
Further added, “We hope that these results will help inform future clinical trials looking at the treatment of blood sugar in higher-risk patients with more severe strokes, particularly those undergoing clot-removal procedures,” he said.