title: Patients' and bystanders' awareness of stroke and pre-hospital delay after stroke onset: perspectives for thrombolysis in West Pomerania Province, Poland.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Thrombolysis is a time-dependent therapy. It is therefore very important how fast stroke patients can reach hospital. The present study was designed to assess which proportion of patients with stroke (from the population of Szczecin, the capital of West Pomerania Province, Poland) reaches hospital within the recommended time from the thrombolytic therapy point of view. The purpose of our study was also to elucidate which factors can influence the time before the ambulance service is called.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study involved 1,015 patients with stroke admitted to the Emergency Department of the University Hospital, Szczecin.
  
  
  RESULTS
  235 patients (23.1%) were admitted to the hospital within the appropriate period for thrombolytic therapy. Hospital arrival time was significantly earlier in older patients and in patients with severer neurological deficits. We also observed a tendency for faster hospitalization of women, the highly educated, and patients regularly using antiplatelet drugs for cardiovascular disease prevention.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The percentage of stroke patients hospitalized within 2 h after stroke onset should be increased. The most susceptible subpopulations in our country seem to be older patients, the highly educated and patients regularly using antiplatelet drugs for cardiovascular disease prevention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Przemysław
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nowacki
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nowik
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bajer-Czajkowska
authors.forename: Agata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Porebska
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zywica
authors.forename: Danuta
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nocoń
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Drechsler
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Safranow
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D015912:Thrombolytic Therapy; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors