Ischemic stroke management in West Scotland: a chart review.
BACKGROUND
Little information is available about the long-term management of ischemic stroke (IS) in West Scotland. In this study we aim to describe the management of IS at onset, admission, and during follow-up among patients who survived an IS event.


METHODS
General practitioners (GPs) (n=20) were randomly selected to recruit IS patients and extract data about patient characteristics, hospitalizations, discharge, and ambulatory care from GP databases, hospital letters, and direct contact with patients and their relatives. Descriptive analyses were conducted.


RESULTS
One hundred and one patients were included, with a mean age of 65.6±13.4. About half of the patients contacted their GPs at the time of onset (45.4%). Cardiovascular history was prevalent in 29.7% of cases, and 14% of all cases were recurrences. Of the patients, 89 (88%) were hospitalized with mean length of stay (LOS) 11.8 days. Treatment was administered on average within 12.9 hours of admission and 23.6% of the admitted patients received thrombolytic treatment. During the 1-year follow-up period, 33.6% of patients were rehospitalized and the mean LOS was 15.1±29.5 days. Further, patients on average sought nursing care (10.9%), physical therapy (45.5%), occupational therapy (27.7%), speech therapy (12.9%), and professional caregivers (12%).


CONCLUSIONS
The health-care resource utilization of IS patients is a major driver of economic burden.
H. Lundbeck A/S, Paris, France.
Patrice
P
Verpillat
Creativ-Ceutical, Paris, France.
Julie
J
Dorey
Laboratoire Santé - Individu - Société (SIS, E.A. 4129), University of Lyon 1, Lyon, France.
Chantal
C
Guilhaume-Goulant
Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Firas
F
Dabbous
Creativ-Ceutical, Paris, France.
Samuel
S
Aballéa
health-care resource utilization; ischemic stroke; long-term management; thrombolysis