scholarly journals Trends in hospital procedure volumes for intra-arterial treatment of acute ischemic stroke: results from the paul coverdell national acute stroke program

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1076-1079
Author(s):  
Ganesh Asaithambi ◽  
Xin Tong ◽  
Kamakshi Lakshminarayan ◽  
Sallyann M Coleman King ◽  
Mary G George

BackgroundRates of intra-arterial revascularization treatments (IAT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) are increasing in the USA. Using a multi-state stroke registry, we studied the trend in IAT use among patients with AIS over a period spanning 11 years. We examined the impact of IAT rates on hospital procedure volumes and patient outcome after stroke.MethodsWe used data from the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program (PCNASP) and explored trends in IAT between 2008 and 2018. Patient outcomes were examined by rates of IAT procedures across hospitals. Specifically, outcomes were compared across low-volume (<15 IAT per year), medium-volume (15–30 IAT per year), and high-volume hospitals (>30 IAT per year). Favorable outcome was defined as discharge to home.ResultsThere were 612 958 patients admitted with AIS to 687 participating hospitals within the PCNASP during this study. Only 2.9% of patients (mean age 68.5 years, 49.3% women) received IAT. The percent of patients with AIS receiving IAT increased from 1% in 2008 to 5.3% in 2018 (p<0.001). The proportion of low-volume hospitals decreased over time (p<0.001), and the proportions of medium-volume (p=0.007) and high-volume hospitals (p<0.001) increased between 2008 and 2018. When compared with medium-volume hospitals, high-volume hospitals had a higher (p<0.0001) and low-volume hospitals had a lower (p<0.0001) percent of patients discharged to home.ConclusionHigh-volume hospitals were associated with a higher rate of favorable outcome. With the increased use of IAT among patients with AIS, the proportion of low-volume hospitals performing IAT significantly decreased.

Stroke ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolle W Davis ◽  
Meghan Bailey ◽  
Natalie Buchwald ◽  
Amreen Farooqui ◽  
Anna Khanna

Background/Objective: There is growing importance on discovering factors that delay time to intervention for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients, as rapid intervention remains essential for better patient outcomes. The management of these patients involves a multidisciplinary effort and quality improvement initiatives to safely increase treatment with intravenous thrombolytic (IV tPa). The objective of this pilot is to evaluate factors of acute stroke care in the emergency department (ED) and the impact they have on IV tPa administration. Methods: A sample of 89 acute ischemic stroke patients that received IV tPa from a single academic medical institution was selected for retrospective analysis. System characteristics (presence of a stroke nurse and time of day) and patient characteristics (mode of arrival and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score (NIHSS) on arrival) were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression to address the study question. Results: The mean door to needle time is 53.74 minutes ( + 38.06) with 74.2% of patients arriving to the ED via emergency medical services (EMS) and 25.8% having a stroke nurse present during IV tPa administration. Mode of arrival ( p = .001) and having a stroke nurse present ( p = .022) are significant predictors of door to needle time in the emergency department (ED). Conclusion: While many factors can influence door to needle times in the ED, we did not find NIHSS on arrival or time of day to be significant factors. Patients arriving to the ED by personal vehicle will have a significant delay in IV tPa administration, therefore emphasizing the importance of using EMS. Perhaps more importantly, collaborative efforts including the addition of a specialized stroke nurse significantly decreased time to IV tPa administration for AIS patients. With this dedicated role, accelerated triage and more effective management of AIS patients is accomplished, leading to decreased intervention times and potentially improving patient outcomes.


Stroke ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerrin Connelly ◽  
Rishi Gupta ◽  
Raul Nogueira ◽  
Arthur Yancey ◽  
Alexander Isakov ◽  
...  

Purpose: To standardize the care of acute stroke patients who receive IV tPA being transported by ground EMS from a treating hospital to a stroke center. Background: National consensus guidelines exist for the hospital management of patients receiving IV tPA for acute ischemic stroke. Such patients require close monitoring and management to minimize risk of clinical deterioration. Although patients are often emergently transported from local hospitals to a stroke center, there are no treatment specific national guidelines for managing such patients enroute. As a result, there is a need to develop and implement a standardized approach to guide EMS personnel, particularly in states like Georgia where the public health burden of stroke is high. Methods: In 2012, the “Georgia EMS Interfacility Ground Transport Protocol for Patients during/after IV tPA Administration for Acute Ischemic Stroke” was developed in conjunction with the Georgia Coverdell Acute Stroke Registry, the Georgia State Office of EMS, a representative group of Georgia hospitals and EMS providers. Stakeholders were brought together with the goal of creating a unified statewide protocol. The intent was to create a streamlined protocol which could be readily implemented by pre-hospital care providers. Results: Stakeholders discussed challenges and opportunities to change the process of pre-hospital care. Challenges included recognition of the broad diversity of EMS providers representing over 250 agencies in the state. Opportunities included establishing the framework for greater collaboration across organizations and providers. The final protocol was endorsed by both the Georgia Coverdell Acute Stroke Registry and the State Office of EMS, and distributed to all EMS regions in Georgia. EMS agencies are currently implementing the protocol. Conclusion: Engaging a diverse group of statewide stakeholders to develop a new treatment protocol enhances success in implementation and serves to further the public health mission of improving care of acute stroke patients.


Stroke ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie Paletz ◽  
Shlee Song ◽  
Nili Steiner ◽  
Betty Robertson ◽  
Nicole Wolber ◽  
...  

Introduction/Background information: At the onset of acute stroke symptoms, speed, capability, safety and skill are essential-lost minutes can be the difference between full recoveries, poor outcome, or even death. The Joint Commission's Certificate of Distinction for Comprehensive Stroke Centers recognizes centers that make exceptional efforts to foster better outcomes for stroke care. While many hospitals have been surveyed, Cedars Sinai was the 5 th hospital in the nation to receive this certification. Researchable question: Does Comprehensive stroke certification (CSC) demonstrate a significant effect on volume and quality of care? Methods: We assembled a cross-functional, multidisciplinary expert team representing all departments and skill sets involved in treating stroke patients. We carefully screened eligible patients with acute ischemic stroke We assessed the number of patients treated at Cedars-Sinai with IV-T-pa t 6 months before and then 6 months after CSC and the quality of their care including medical treatment and door to needle time. Results: In the 6 months prior to Joint Commissions Stroke Certification we treated 20 of 395acute stroke patients with t-PA with an average CT turnaround time of 31±19minutes and an average Door to needle time (DTNT) of 68±32minutes. In the 6 months since Joint Commission Stroke Certification we have increased the number of acute stroke patients treated by almost double. There were 37 out of 489(P=0.02, Chi Square) patients treated with IV t-PA with an average CT turnaround time of 22±7minutes (p=0.08, t-test, compared to pre-CSC) and an average DTNT of 61± 23minutes (not different than pre-CSC). Conclusion: We conclude that Joint Commission Certification for stroke was associated with an increased rate of treatment with IV rt-PA in acute ischemic stroke patients. We were not able to document an effect on quality of care. Further studies of the impact of CSC certification are warranted.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 670-677
Author(s):  
Xia Wang ◽  
Jingwei Li ◽  
Tom J Moullaali ◽  
Keon-Joo Lee ◽  
Beom Joon Kim ◽  
...  

Objective To investigate the comparative efficacy and safety of the low-dose versus standard-dose alteplase using real-world acute stroke registry data from Asian countries. Methods Individual participant data were obtained from nine acute stroke registries from China, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan between 2005 and 2018. Inverse probability of treatment weight was used to remove baseline imbalances between those receiving low-dose versus standard-dose alteplase. The primary outcome was death or disability defined by modified Rankin Scale scores of 2 to 6 at 90 days. Secondary outcomes were symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage and death. Generalized linear mixed models with the individual registry as a random intercept were performed to determine associations of treatment with low-dose alteplase and outcomes. Results Of the 6250 patients (mean age 66 years, 36% women) included in these analyses, 1610 (24%) were treated with low-dose intravenous alteplase. Clinical outcomes for low-dose alteplase were not significantly different to those for standard-dose alteplase, adjusted odds ratios for death or disability: 1.00 (0.85–1.19) and symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage 0.87 (0.63–1.19), except for lower death with borderline significance, 0.77 (0.59–1.01). Conclusions The present analyses of real-world Asian acute stroke registry data suggest that low-dose intravenous alteplase has overall comparable efficacy for functional recovery and greater potential safety in terms of reduced mortality, to standard-dose alteplase for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke.


Author(s):  
RA Joundi ◽  
R Martino ◽  
G Saposnik ◽  
J Fang ◽  
V Giannakeas ◽  
...  

Background: Dysphagia is a devastating complication of stroke and can lead to malnutrition, immobility, aspiration pneumonia, and death. Guidelines advocate screening all patients with acute stroke for swallowing impairment. However, previous research suggests only 60% are screened, and it is unclear what factors contribute to receiving dysphagia screening. Methods: We used the Ontario Stroke Registry to identify patients who were admitted to Regional Stroke Centres from 2010-2013. We used multivariable regression to identify predictors of receiving a dysphagia screen within 72 hours. Results: Among 7172 patients with acute ischemic stroke, 1705 patients (23.8%) did not undergo screening. Factors increasing the odds of being tested were: Stroke unit admission (adjusted odds ratio aOR 6.5), presenting with speech deficits (aOR 1.9) or weakness (aOR 1.5), or receiving thrombolysis (aOR 1.9). Seizure (aOR 0.49) and mild stroke (aOR 0.59 vs moderate stroke) decreased the odds of being tested. Among those with mild strokes who received a swallowing screen, 33% failed. *All p<0.0001. Conclusions: Patients with mild stroke are at risk of not being screened for dysphagia, despite a significant fail rate among those tested. This may expose untested patients to a higher risk of complications from dysphagia, and suggests a gap in process of care that should be addressed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arman Kilic ◽  
Thomas G Gleason ◽  
Hiroshi Kagawa ◽  
Ahmet Kilic ◽  
Ibrahim Sultan

Abstract OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of institutional volume on long-term outcomes following lung transplantation (LTx) in the USA. METHODS Adults undergoing LTx were identified in the United Network for Organ Sharing registry. Patients were divided into equal size tertiles according to the institutional volume. All-cause mortality following LTx was evaluated using the risk-adjusted multivariable Cox regression and the Kaplan–Meier analyses, and compared between these volume cohorts at 3 points: 90 days, 1 year (excluding 90-day deaths) and 10 years (excluding 1-year deaths). Lowess smoothing plots and receiver-operating characteristic analyses were performed to identify optimal volume thresholds associated with long-term survival. RESULTS A total of 13 370 adult LTx recipients were identified. The mean annual centre volume was 33.6 ± 20.1. After risk adjustment, low-volume centres were found to be at increased risk for 90-day mortality, [hazard ratio (HR) 1.56, P < 0.001], 1-year mortality excluding 90-day deaths (HR 1.46, P < 0.001) and 10-year mortality excluding 1-year deaths (HR 1.22, P < 0.001). These findings persisted when the centre volume was modelled as a continuous variable. The Kaplan–Meier analysis also demonstrated significant reductions in survival at each of these time points for low-volume centres (each P < 0.001). The 10-year survival conditional on 1-year survival was 37.4% in high-volume centres vs 28.0% in low-volume centres (P < 0.001). The optimal annual volume threshold for long-term survival was 26 LTx/year. CONCLUSIONS The institutional volume impacts long-term survival following LTx, even after excluding deaths within the first post-transplant year. Identifying the processes of care that lead to longer survival in high-volume centres is prudent.


Stroke ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Phillips ◽  
Leesa Wright ◽  
James Roberts ◽  
Ray Walther ◽  
Mervat Wahba ◽  
...  

Specialized Teams React On Key Examinations: The Impact of Triage in Acute Ischemic Stroke Category: Emergency Care/Systems Background and Purpose: The Brain Attack Coalition recommends the initiation of thrombolytic therapy in ischemic strokes within 60 minutes of hospital arrival. Poor compliance in our Emergency Department with door to needle (DTN) challenged us to identify care strategies to rapidly identify, evaluate, and implement care in the acute stroke population. In 2012, we integrated resources caring for ST Elevation Myocardial Infarctions (STEMI) and acute strokes to form the Time is Tissue unit that would result in improved compliance. Methods: Specialized training was provided to Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and the STEMI unit staff in acute stroke recognition and care. Acute stroke patients identified by EMS bypassed standard triage and the Time is Tissue unit was responsible for care from arrival through disposition. Results: A retrospective and concurrent chart review was performed from January 2011 to June 2013 on 232 patients (100%) receiving rt-PA. The research confirmed that specialized teams increased compliance for DTN. An unexpected finding was rt-PA volume increased 117% when comparing 2011 to 2012 without a significant change in presenting ischemic stroke volume. Conclusion: Our strategy of aligning processes and utilizing specialized teams to meet time and quality goals resulted in exceptional gains in the volume of patients identified to receive rt-PA and improvement in DTN times.


Stroke ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raul Nogueira ◽  
Diogo C Haussen ◽  
Alicia Castonguay ◽  
Leticia Rebello ◽  
Michael Abraham ◽  
...  

Background and Purpose: It remains unclear how experience influences outcomes after the advent of stent-retriever technology. We studied the relationship between site experience and outcomes in the TRevo ACute Ischemic StroKe (TRACK) multicenter registry. Methods: The 24 sites that enrolled patients in the TRACK registry were trichotomized into: low volume (enrolling 1-23 cases, less than 2 cases/ month), medium volume (24-47 cases, 2-4 cases/ month), and high volume sites (> 48 cases, > 4 cases/ month). Demographics, baseline features, and key prognostic presentation characteristics were compared across the three volume strata. Results: The 624 TRACK registry patients were divided into three sub groups: low (n=188 patients, 30.1%), medium (n=175, 28.1%), and high (n=261, 41.8%) volume centers. There were no significant differences in terms of age (mean, 66±16 vs. 67±14 vs. 65±15, p=0.2), baseline NIHSS (mean, 17.6±6.5 vs. 16.8±6.5 vs. 17.6±6.9, p=0.43) or site of occlusion across the 3 groups. Times from stroke onset to groin puncture were shorter in the medium volume sites (310 min) but similar in the low vs. high volumes sites (397 vs. 378 min). Higher efficiency and better outcomes were seen in higher volumes sites as demonstrated by faster times from groin puncture to reperfusion (mean, 89 vs. 82 vs. 65 min, p<0.0001), lower general anesthesia usage (60% vs. 70% vs. 59%, p=0.06), higher balloon guide catheter use (40% vs. 36% vs. 59%, p=<0.0001), higher reperfusion rates (mTICI ≥2b, 75.8% vs. 79.4% vs. 83.9%, p=0.10), and higher rates of good outcome (90-day mRS≤2, 39% vs. 50% vs. 53.4%, p=0.02). There were no appreciable differences in sICH (4.5% vs. 9.8% vs. 7.3%, p=0.2) or 90-day mortality (20.3% vs. 25% vs. 17.1%, p=0.2). After adjustments in multivariate analysis, there were significantly higher chances of achieving good outcomes in high vs. low volume (OR: 1.7, 95%CI 1.04-2.75, p=0.035) and medium vs. low volume (OR: 1.8, 95%CI 1.1-2.9, p=0.03) centers but there were no significant differences between high and medium volume centers (p=0.84). Conclusions: Clinical volumes have a significant influence in terms of efficiency and outcomes across stroke centers.


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