[Strategies for early admission of stroke patients]

From March to August 1993 we performed a comprehensive educational campaign about stroke and acute stroke therapies to shorten admission delay and to recruit more patients for the ECASS trial [8]. We compared the presentation data of all stroke patients admitted in a six month preeducational period with data of a six month posteducational period. The median admission delay was significantly reduced from eight hours in the preeducational to five hours in the posteducational period. The number of patients undergoing thrombolytic treatment increased. The following factors shortened admission delay: age > 70 years, living in cities, stroke onset during daytime, admission by ambulance, stroke in anterior circulation, cardiogenic embolic stroke, severe symptoms.