Quality of care and outcomes in patients with diabetes hospitalized with ischemic stroke: findings from Get With the Guidelines-Stroke.
OBJECTIVE
Diabetes is a common comorbid disease in stroke patients and has a strong influence on stroke-related outcomes, including stroke recurrence. We sought to examine the quality of care and in-hospital outcomes in patients with diabetes in the Get With the Guidelines-Stroke (GWTG-Stroke) program.


METHODS
Data were obtained from 415 926 ischemic stroke patients from 1070 United States hospitals that participated in GWTG-Stroke between 2003 and 2008. We analyzed the relationships between diabetes and quality of care, in-hospital mortality, and discharge home using multivariable logistic regression.


RESULTS
There were 130 817 (31%) ischemic stroke patients with diabetes. Quality of care received by patients with and without diabetes was similar except for intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) and cholesterol treatment. Fifty-four percent of patients with diabetes who arrived within 2 hours of onset received rt-PA compared to 60.8% of patients without diabetes (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.83; 95% CI, 0.79-0.88). Almost 80% of patients with diabetes were discharged on cholesterol treatment compared to 71% of patients without diabetes (aOR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.37-1.44). Diabetes patients were less likely to be discharged home (aOR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.78-0.81) and had a higher risk of in-hospital death (aOR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.08-1.15).


CONCLUSIONS
Quality of care among patients with and without diabetes was similar except for rt-PA and cholesterol treatment. Diabetes was associated with worse stroke-related outcomes. Greater quality-improvement efforts to increase the use of rt-PA and other secondary prevention treatments in patients with diabetes are warranted.
Reeves
Mathew J
MJ
Department of Epidemiology, Michigan State University, B601 West Fee Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. reevesm@msu.edu
Vaidya
Robert S
RS
Fonarow
Gregg C
GC
Liang
Li
L
Smith
Eric E
EE
Matulonis
Robert
R
Olson
DaiWai M
DM
Schwamm
Lee H
LH
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome