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Hospital presentation after stroke in a community sample: the Mobile Stroke Project
Richard M Zweifler1, Jorge E Mendizabal, Sarah Cunningham
1Stroke Center, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Ala 36617, USA.
Southern Medical Journal
|January 24, 2003
Summary
A small percentage of stroke patients arrive at the hospital within 3 hours for acute intervention. Factors like being asleep or family transport delay arrival, highlighting the need for better stroke prevention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Public Health
- Emergency Medicine
Background:
- Current data on stroke patient presentation times are limited, often from specialized databases.
- This may not represent typical patterns for most hospitalized stroke patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the timing of hospital presentation for stroke patients.
- To identify factors influencing delayed arrival for acute stroke treatment.
Main Methods:
- Evaluation of a consecutive series of all hospitalized stroke patients in Mobile County, Alabama.
- Analysis of presentation times relative to symptom onset.
Main Results:
- 1,010 hospitalized stroke patients were identified.
- Only 42% of out-of-hospital stroke patients arrived within 3 hours of symptom onset.
- Late arrival was associated with being asleep at stroke onset or transport by family/friends.
Conclusions:
- A minority of stroke patients meet the criteria for timely acute intervention.
- Effective stroke prevention remains crucial for reducing incidence and morbidity.
- Future acute therapies need longer windows or greater efficacy than current options like tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA).