Pre-hospital causes for delayed arrival in acute ischemic stroke before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A study at two stroke centers in Egypt.
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ABSTRACT: Background
In the current study we investigated the causes of pre-hospital delay as this can compromise the patient's chance to receive thrombolytic therapy and thus impact stroke outcome.Methods
We surveyed 254 patients regarding reasons for delayed and early arrival to hospital after acute ischemic stroke. The survey was performed over five months, spanning a period pre- and during COVID-19 (between December 7, 2019 and May 10, 2020).Results
A total of 71.2% of patients arrived beyond four hours of onset of ischemic stroke. The commonest cause for delay pre-Covid-19 was receiving treatment in a non-stroke hospital, while that during COVID-19 was fear of infection and lock down issues. Not realizing the urgency of the condition and stroke during sleep were common in both periods. Early arrival because of the patient's previous experience with stroke accounted for approximately 25% of cases in both periods. The effect of media was more evident during COVID-19, accounting for 47.7% of cases.Conclusion
Pre-hospital delay secondary to misperception of the urgency of stroke and management in a non-stroke hospital reflect the lack of awareness among the public and medical staff. This concept is emphasized by early arrival secondary to previous experience with stroke and the pronounced effect of media in the time of COVID-19.
SUBMITTER: Aref HM
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8279320 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Background and purposePrevious studies have reported that early hospital arrival improves clinical outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke; however, whether early arrival is associated with favorable outcomes regardless of reperfusion therapy and the type of stroke onset time is unclear. Thus, we investigated the impact of onset-to-door time on outcomes and evaluated the predictors of pre-hospital delay after ischemic stroke.MethodsConsecutive acute ischemic stroke patients who arrived at the hospital within five days of onset from September 2019 to May 2020 were selected from the prospective stroke registries of Seoul National University Hospital and Chung-Ang University Hospital of Seoul, Korea. Patients were divided into early (onset-to-door time, ≤4.5 h) and late (>4.5 h) arrivers. Multivariate analyses were performed to assess the effect of early arrival on clinical outcomes and predictors of late arrival.ResultsAmong the 539 patients, 28.4% arrived early and 71.6% arrived late. Early hospital arrival was significantly associated with favorable outcomes (three-month modified Rankin Scale [mRS]: 0-2, adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.03, 95% confidence interval: [CI] 1.04-3.96) regardless of various confounders, including receiving reperfusion therapy and type of stroke onset time. Furthermore, a lower initial National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score (aOR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.90-0.97), greater pre-stroke mRS score (aOR: 1.58, 95% CI: 1.18-2.13), female sex (aOR: 1.71, 95% CI: 1.14-2.58), unclear onset time, and ≤6 years of schooling (aOR: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.03-3.00 compared to >12 years of schooling) were independent predictors of late arrival.ConclusionsThus, the onset-to-door time of≤4.5 h is crucial for better clinical outcome, and lower NIHSS score, greater pre-stroke mRS score, female sex, unclear onset times, and ≤6 years of schooling were independent predictors of late arrival. Therefore, educating about the importance of early hospital arrival after acute ischemic stroke should be emphasized. More strategic efforts are needed to reduce the prehospital delay by understanding the predictors of late arrival.
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Project description:BackgroundVery few comparative studies have focused on the differences in the causes of ischemic stroke between young adults and non-young adults. This study was performed to determine what causes of ischemic stroke are more important in young adults than in non-young adults using a large-scale multicenter hospital-based stroke registry in Fukuoka, Japan.Methods and resultsWe investigated data on 15,860 consecutive patients aged ≥18 years with acute ischemic stroke (mean age: 73.5 ± 12.4 years, 58.2% men) who were hospitalized between 2007 and 2019. In total, 779 patients were categorized as young adults (≤50 years of age). Although vascular risk factors, including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia, were less frequent in young adults than in non-young adults, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia in young adults aged >40 years were comparable to those of non-young adults. Lifestyle-related risk factors such as smoking, drinking, and obesity were more frequent in young adults than in non-young adults. As young adults became older, the proportions of cardioembolism and stroke of other determined etiologies decreased, but those of large-artery atherosclerosis and small-vessel occlusion increased. Some embolic sources (high-risk sources: arterial myxoma, dilated cardiomyopathy, and intracardiac thrombus; medium-risk sources: atrial septal defect, nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis, patent foramen ovale, and left ventricular hypokinesis) and uncommon causes (vascular diseases: reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome, moyamoya disease, other vascular causes, arterial dissection, and cerebral venous thrombosis; hematologic diseases: antiphospholipid syndrome and protein S deficiency) were more prevalent in young adults than in non-young adults, and these trends decreased with age.ConclusionsCertain embolic sources and uncommon causes may be etiologically important causes of ischemic stroke in young adults. However, the contribution of conventional vascular risk factors and lifestyle-related risk factors is not negligible with advancing age, even in young adults.
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Project description:ObjectivesThis study aimed to explore the status of regional variations in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) treatment and investigate the association between the presence of a thrombectomy-capable stroke center (TSC) and the case fatality rate (CFR) of AIS within hospital service areas (HSAs).MethodsThis observational cross-sectional study analyzed acute stroke quality assessment program data from 262 hospitals between 2013 and 2016. TSCs were defined according to the criteria of the Joint Commission. In total, 64 HSAs were identified based on the addresses of hospitals. We analyzed the effects of structure factors, process factors, and the presence of a TSC on the CFR of AIS using multivariate logistic regression.ResultsAmong 262 hospitals, 31 hospitals met the definition of a TSC. Of the 64 HSAs, only 20 had a TSC. At hospitals, the presence of a stroke unit, the presence of stroke specialists, and the rate of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) treatment were associated with reductions in the CFR. In HSAs, the rate of EVT treatment (odds ratio [OR], 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.97 to 0.99) and the presence of a TSC (OR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.88 to 0.99) significantly reduced the CFR of AIS.ConclusionsThe presence of a TSC within an HSA, corresponding to structure and process factors related to the quality of care, contributed significantly to lowering the CFR of AIS. The CFR also declined as the rate of treatment increased. This study highlights the importance of TSCs in the development of an acute stroke care system in Korea.
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