Intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator therapy for acute ischemic stroke: initial Israeli experience.
BACKGROUND
Intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator therapy within 3 hours of stroke onset is a proven effective treatment for acute ischemic stroke.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the feasibility and safety of rt-PA therapy for reperfusion in routine clinical practice in Israel, in the setting of a dedicated stroke unit.


METHODS
Consecutive patients presenting within less than 3 hours of stroke onset were evaluated by an emergency physician and the neurology stroke team. After brain computerized tomography, eligible patients were treated with intravenous rt-PA (0.9 mg/kg, maximum dose 90 mg) according to an in-hospital protocol corresponding to recommended criteria. Patients were admitted to the acute stroke unit. Safety and clinical outcome were routinely assessed. Recanalization was assessed by serial transcranial Doppler.


RESULTS
The study group comprised 16 patients, mean age 61 years (range 47-80 years), male to female ratio 10:6, whose median baseline National Institutes of Health stroke scale was 13 (range 6-24). They were treated within a mean door-to-CT time of 39 minutes (range 17-62 min), door-to-drug time 101 minutes (range 72-150), and stroke onset-to-drug time 151 minutes (range 90-180). There was an early improvement within 24 hours (of > or = 4 points in the NIHSS score) in 7 patients (44%) and no early deteriorations. There were no protocol deviations, no symptomatic intracranial hemorrhages, and no major systemic hemorrhage within 36 hours of rt-PA treatment. Three asymptomatic hemorrhagic transformations of the infarct were noted on routine follow-up brain CT associated with neurologic improvement. Outcome data were comparable to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke rt-PA Stroke Study.


CONCLUSIONS
Intravenous rt-PA treatment within 3 hours of stroke onset in routine clinical practice in Israel is feasible and appears safe in the setting of a neurology stroke unit and team. Careful implementation of rt-PA therapy for selected patients in Israel is encouraged.
Schwammenthal
Yvonne
Y
Stroke Unit, Department of Neurology, Neurovascular Laboratory, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
Drescher
Michael J
MJ
Merzeliak
Oleg
O
Tsabari
Rakefet
R
Bruk
Bella
B
Feibel
Meir
M
Hoffman
Chen
C
Bakon
Mati
M
Rotstein
Zeev
Z
Chapman
Joab
J
Tanne
David
D
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D020521:Stroke / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015912:Thrombolytic Therapy; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator