Clinicians' perspectives on incidentally discovered silent brain infarcts - A qualitative study.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:While silent brain infarcts (SBIs) in screened cohorts are associated with risk of symptomatic stroke and dementia, the clinical significance of incidentally discovered SBIs (id-SBIs) is unknown. Detection may offer an opportunity to initiate prevention measures, but uncertainties about id-SBIs may impede clinicians from addressing them and complicate further study of this condition. METHODS AND RESULTS:This study used semi-structured interviews of practicing clinicians. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a grounded theory approach. A constant comparative method was used to organize emergent themes and examine new themes. Purposeful sampling was employed to achieve participant diversity. Fifteen clinicians were interviewed. Emergent themes centered o

SUBMITTER: Leung LY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5875806 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature