%0 Journal Article
%T Age Predicts Functional Outcome in Acute Stroke Patients with rt-PA Treatment
%A Jarin Chindaprasirt
%A Kittisak Sawanyawisuth
%A Paiboon Chattakul
%A Panita Limpawattana
%A Somsak Tiamkao
%A Patcharin Aountri
%A Verajit Chotmongkol
%J ISRN Neurology
%D 2013
%R 10.1155/2013/710681
%X The standard treatment for acute ischemic stroke is thrombolytic therapy. There is limited data on prognostic factors of acute stroke with thrombolytic therapy particularly in Asian population. Acute ischemic stroke patients who were treated with thrombolytic therapy at Srinagarind Hospital between May 2008 and July 2010 were included. Factors associated with Barthel index more than 80 were studied by multiple logistic regression analysis. There were 75 patients included in the study. The mean NIHSS scores before treatment and at 3 months were 9.16 ¡À 4.82 and 3.83 ¡À 4.00, respectively, and median Barthel index at 3 months was 86. Only significant predictor for having Barthel index more than 80 points at 3 months was age (adjusted odds ratio 0.929, 95% confidence interval 0.874, 0.988). Four patients developed intracranial hemorrhage after the treatment (5%), and two died (2.6%). In conclusion, age predicts Barthel index in acute stroke patients with rt-PA treatment. 1. Introduction Acute ischemic stroke is the most common neurological disease and the third leading cause of death in Thailand [1, 2]. The sequel is catastrophic for patient and caregivers and causes economic burden for the country. Approximately 200,000 Thai patients were diagnosed with stroke yearly but less than one percent received thrombolytic therapy in time [3]. Thrombolysis with the intravenous recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA) is now the standard of care for AIS patient with onset of stroke less than 4.5 hours [4, 5]. Male gender was shown to be a predictor in acute stroke patients who received rt-PA [6]. There is limited data on prognostic factors particularly in Asian population. Here, we reported the predictor for functional outcomes of acute stroke in the stroke referral system in Northeast Thailand. 2. Stroke Referral System Srinagarind hospital is a 900-bed university hospital situated in Khon Kaen province, the central part of Northeastern Thailand. It served as a referral center for all provinces in this region. The stroke fast track program was initiated in 2007, and the referral system was complete in January 2008. The stroke network cover 63 primary or community (30 to 90 beds), 4 secondary (120 beds), and 1 tertiary (500 beds) hospitals in 4 provinces including Khon Kaen, Roi Et, Mahasarakam, and Kalasin. Nevertheless, other hospitals in nearby provinces can refer the stroke patients to our hospital if the arrival time is less than 4.5 hours. 3. Materials and Methods We enrolled all consecutive patients diagnosed as acute ischemic stroke or transient
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.neurology/2013/710681/