title: Cerebrovascular disease as the initial clinical presentation of haematological disorders.
abstract: We describe 14 patients (mean age 57 years) in whom stroke or TIA was the presenting manifestation of a haematologic disorder. Twelve patients had an ischaemic stroke and 2 a haemorrhagic stroke. This group represented 1.27% (14/1,099) of the total number of patients with first-ever stroke diagnosed from 1986 to 1992 at our institution, accounted for 1.32% (12/906) of all brain infarcts and 1.03% (2/193) of all haemorrhagic strokes, and was the most common aetiology (25%) of ischaemic stroke of unusual cause. Haematological disorders included essential thrombocythaemia (6), polycythaemia vera (1), smoker's polycythaemia (1), thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (1), IgA lambda myeloma (1), acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (1), Waldenström's macroglobulinaemia (1), chronic granulocytic leukaemia (1) and IgG lambda myeloma (1). Stroke subtypes included definitive cerebral infarct (10), TIA (2), parenchymal haemorrhage (1) and spontaneous subdural haematoma (1). Vascular territories in ischaemic stroke were the carotid in 7 patients, the vertebrobasilar in 1 and undetermined in 4. Mean follow-up was 40 months (range, 1-96 months). The mortality rate was 18.7%.
authors.affiliation: Acute Stroke Unit, Hospitals de Barcelona de L'Aliança, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arboix
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Besses
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006402:Hematologic Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D002546:Ischemic Attack, Transient / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009196:Myeloproliferative Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D015996:Survival Rate