Riks-stroke - a Swedish national quality register for stroke care.
BACKGROUND
Riks-Stroke, the Swedish national quality register on stroke care, provides unique opportunities to evaluate stroke units in routine clinical care.


METHODS
Basic patient characteristics, process indicators and outcome variables are recorded in all 85 hospitals admitting acute stroke patients. A 3-month follow-up is included.


RESULTS
There are wide variations between hospitals in the proportion of patients admitted to a stroke unit, in secondary prevention and in the proportion of patients in institutional care at 3 months. Even after adjustment for available prognostic indicators, case fatality is lower and functional outcome is better in patients treated in stroke units than in patients treated in general wards.


CONCLUSIONS
Riks-Stroke shows that outcome is consistently better in patients treated in a stroke unit than in general wards, not only in randomised trials but also in routine stroke care.
Asplund
Kjell
K
Department of Medicine, University Hospital, Umea, Sweden. Kjell.Asplund@medicin.umu.se
Hulter Asberg
Kerstin
K
Norrving
Bo
B
Stegmayr
Birgitta
B
Terént
Andreas
A
Wester
Per-Olov
PO
D006296:Health Services / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D006801:Humans; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D012042:Registries; D020521:Stroke / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome