Isolated Hand Paresis: A Case Series

Hand knob infarction is a well-known stroke entity. Based on very limited data, embolic stroke mechanism has been considered the most frequent cause; however, prognosis is considered good. We wanted to shed more light on this phenomenon by assessing a cohort of patients referred to a general hospital stroke unit.

Every subject admitted to our stroke unit with an acute isolated hand paresis in the period from 2007 to 2012 was identified prospectively. Patients who had suffered from a stroke in the hand motor cortex or an adjacent area explaining the acute loss of hand function were included in the study. The Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment criteria were used to classify subtypes of stroke according to etiology. The patients were followed up during autumn 2012.