Exclusion criteria for intravenous thrombolysis in stroke mimics: an observational study
Date
2013
Type:
Artículo
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6
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ORCID:
Journal Title
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Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier
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Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Stroke mimics (SMs) are frequent in emergency departments (EDs), but are treated infrequently with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) thrombolysis. We aimed at identifying the factors that lead to the exclusion of SMs from thrombolytic therapy.
METHODS:
Consecutive patients presenting to the ED between December 2004 and March 2011 with symptoms that suggested acute ischemic stroke were included.
RESULTS:
Eight hundred forty-two patients were included in this study; 113 (13.4%) were considered SMs; these patients were younger (P = .01), more frequently diabetic (P = .001), arrived later to the ED (P = .03), had lower National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores (P < .001), and higher frequencies of negative diffusion-weighted imaging studies (P = .002). The most common causes of cases of SM were toxic metabolic disorders (n = 34 [30.1%]) and seizures (n = 22 [19.5%]). The most frequent cause of consultation was aphasia (n = 43 [37.6%]). SM patients had a total of 152 contraindications for rt-PA, with 34 (30%) patients having >1 contraindication. The most frequent of these were being beyond the therapeutic window for thrombolysis (n = 96) and having deficits not measurable by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale or very mild symptoms before the start of rt-PA (n = 37). Twenty-four (21.2%) patients had both contraindications simultaneously. Two patients (1.76%) in the SM group were candidates for rt-PA but did not receive this treatment because they or their family rejected it. Of 729 stroke patients, 87 (11.9%) did receive rt-PA.
CONCLUSIONS:
SM patients frequently had exclusion criteria for systemic thrombolysis, the most frequent being presenting beyond the established thrombolytic window.
Description
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Citation
J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 2013 Oct;22(7):1140-1145
Keywords
Stroke, stroke mimics, thrombolysis