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ABSTRACT: Background
To track triage, routing, and treatment status regarding access to endovascular treatment (EVT) after acute ischemic stroke (AIS) at a national level.Methods
From national stroke audit data, potential candidates for EVT arriving within 6 hours with National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score of ≥ 7 were identified. Acute care hospitals were classified as thrombectomy-capable hospitals (TCHs, ≥ 15 EVT cases/year) or primary stroke hospital (PSH, < 15 cases/year), and patients' initial routes and subsequent inter-hospital transfer were described. Impact of initial routing to TCHs vs. PSHs on EVT and clinical outcomes were analyzed using multilevel generalized mixed effect models.Results
Out of 14,902 AIS patients, 2,180 (14.6%) were EVT candidates. Eighty-one percent of EVT candidates were transported by ambulance, but only one-third were taken initially to TCHs. Initial routing to TCHs was associated with greater chances of receiving EVT compared to initial routing to PSHs (33.3% vs 12.1%, P < 0.001; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.59-2.92) and favorable outcome (38.5% vs. 28.2%, P < 0.001; aOR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.16-2.00). Inter-hospital transfers to TCHs occurred in 17.4% of those initially routed to a PSH and was associated with the greater chance of EVT compared to remaining at PSHs (34.8% vs. 7.5%, P < 0.001), but not with better outcomes.Conclusion
Two-thirds of EVT candidates were initially routed to PSHs despite greater chance of receiving EVT and having favorable outcomes if routed to a TCH in Korea. Process improvement is needed to direct appropriate patients to TCHs.
SUBMITTER: Kang J
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7590651 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Kang Jihoon J Kim Seong Eun SE Park Hong Kyun HK Cho Yong Jin YJ Kim Jun Yup JY Lee Keon Joo KJ Park Jong Moo JM Park Kwang Yeol KY Lee Kyung Bok KB Lee Soo Joo SJ Lee Ji Sung JS Lee Juneyoung J Yang Ki Hwa KH Choi Ah Rum AR Kang Mi Yeon MY Choi Nack Cheon NC Gorelick Philip B PB Bae Hee Joon HJ
Journal of Korean medical science 20201026 41
<h4>Background</h4>To track triage, routing, and treatment status regarding access to endovascular treatment (EVT) after acute ischemic stroke (AIS) at a national level.<h4>Methods</h4>From national stroke audit data, potential candidates for EVT arriving within 6 hours with National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score of ≥ 7 were identified. Acute care hospitals were classified as thrombectomy-capable hospitals (TCHs, ≥ 15 EVT cases/year) or primary stroke hospital (PSH, < 15 cases/year), an ...[more]