SPARKLE (Subtypes of Ischaemic Stroke Classification System), Incorporating Measurement of Carotid Plaque Burden: A New Validated Tool for the Classification of Ischemic Stroke Subtypes
Bibliographic record
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Previous classification systems of acute ischemic stroke (Causative Classification System, CCS, of acute ischemic stroke, Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment, TOAST) established the diagnosis of large artery disease (LAD) based on the presence or absence of carotid stenosis. However, carotid plaque burden is a stronger predictor of cardiovascular risk than stenosis. Our objective was to update definitions of ischemic stroke subtypes to improve the detection of LAD and to assess the validity and reliability of a new classification system: SPARKLE (Subtypes of Ischaemic Stroke Classification System). METHODS: In a retrospective review of clinical research data, we compared three stroke subtype classifications: CCS, TOAST and SPARKLE. We analyzed a random sample of 275 patients presenting with minor stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) in an Urgent TIA Clinic in London, Ont., Canada, between 2002 and 2012. RESULTS: There was substantial overall agreement between SPARKLE and CCS (κ = 0.75), with significant differences in the rate of detection of LAD, cardioembolic and undetermined causes of stroke or TIA. The inter-rater reliability of SPARKLE was substantial (κ = 0.76) and the intra-rater reliability was excellent (κ = 0.91). CONCLUSION: SPARKLE is a valid and reliable classification system, providing advantages compared to CCS and TOAST. The incorporation of plaque burden into the classification of LAD increases the proportion of cases attributable to LAD and reduces the proportion classified as being of 'undetermined' etiology.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.004 | 0.012 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.006 | 0.002 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.002 | 0.001 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".