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 ± 4.82 and 3.83 ± 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
References
[1]
“Stroke epidemiological data of nine Asian countries. Asian acute stroke advisory panel (AASAP),” Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand, vol. 83, no. 1, pp. 1–7, 2000.
[2]
N. Poungvarin, “Burden of stroke in Thailand,” International Journal of Stroke, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 127–128, 2007.
[3]
“Statistics of cerebrovascular patients in Thailand 2000–2010,” Bureau of Non-Communicable Disease, 2012, http://thaincd.com/information-statistic/non-communicable-disease-data.php.
[4]
J. M. Wardlaw, V. Murray, E. Berge, and G. J. del Zoppo, “Thrombolysis for acute ischaemic stroke,” The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, no. 4, Article ID CD000213, 2009.
[5]
W. Hacke, M. Kaste, E. Bluhmki et al., “Thrombolysis with alteplase 3 to 4.5 hours after acute ischemic stroke,” The New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 359, no. 13, pp. 1317–1329, 2008.
[6]
M. S. Elkind, S. Prabhakaran, J. Pittman, W. Koroshetz, M. Jacoby, and K. C. Johnston, “Sex as a predictor of outcomes in patients treated with thrombolysis for acute stroke,” Neurology, vol. 68, no. 11, pp. 842–848, 2007.
[7]
N. C. Suwanwela, K. Phanthumchinda, and Y. Likitjaroen, “Thrombolytic therapy in acute ischemic stroke in Asia: the first prospective evaluation,” Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery, vol. 108, no. 6, pp. 549–552, 2006.
[8]
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke rt-PA Stroke Study Group, “Tissue plasminogen activator for acute ischemic stroke,” The New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 333, no. 24, pp. 1581–1587, 1995.
[9]
S. Muengtaweepongsa, P. Dharmasaroja, and U. Kummark, “Outcomes of intravenous thrombolytic therapy for acute ischemic stroke with an integrated acute stroke referral network: initial experience of a community-based hospital in a developing country,” Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 42–46, 2012.
[10]
P. Lloyd-Sherlock, “Stroke in developing countries: epidemiology, impact and policy implications,” Development Policy Review, vol. 28, no. 6, pp. 693–709, 2010.
[11]
N. C. Suwanwela, K. Phanthumchinda, N. Suwanwela, J. Tantivatana, and A. Janchai, “Thrombolytic treatment for acute ischemic stroke: a 2 year-experience at king Chulalongkorn memorial hospital,” Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand, vol. 84, no. 1, pp. S428–S436, 2001.
[12]
F. I. Mahoney and D. W. Barthel, “Functional evaluation: the Barthel index,” Maryland State Medical Journal, vol. 14, pp. 61–65, 1965.
[13]
S.-F. Sung, Y.-W. Chen, M.-C. Tseng, C.-T. Ong, and H.-J. Lin, “Atrial fibrillation predicts good functional outcome following intravenous tissue plasminogen activator in patients with severe stroke,” Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery, vol. 115, no. 7, pp. 892–895, 2013.
[14]
M. Arnold, S. Mattle, A. Galimanis, et al., “Impact of admission glucose and diabetes on recanalization and outcome after intra-arterial thrombolysis for ischaemic stroke,” International Journal of Stroke, 2012.
[15]
S. de Raedt, R. Brouns, A. de Smedt, et al., “The sNIHSS-4 predicts outcome in right and left anterior circulation strokes,” Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery, vol. 115, pp. 729–731, 2013.
[16]
A. Arboix, L. García-Eroles, J. B. Massons, M. Oliveres, R. Pujades, and C. Targa, “Atrial fibrillation and stroke: clinical presentation of cardioembolic versus atherothrombotic infarction,” International Journal of Cardiology, vol. 73, no. 1, pp. 33–42, 2000.