Association Between Thrombolytic Door-to-Needle Time and 1-Year Mortality and Readmission in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke
Retrospective cohort study (61,426 patients treated with tPA within 4.5 hours) found that every 15-minute increase in door-to-needle times was significantly associated with higher all-cause mortality within 90 minutes after hospital arrival, but not after 90 minutes.
Source:
Journal of the American Medical Association
SPS commentary:
A related editorial states that this study fills an important gap in the literature by convincingly documenting the association between faster treatment with intravenous tPA and better long-term outcomes, including 1-year mortality. The findings are yet another reason for clinicians and health systems to design stroke services that can treat patients with acute ischaemic stroke with thrombolytic therapy in a rapid fashion.