Factors Associated with In-Hospital Delay in Intravenous Thrombolysis for Acute Ischemic Stroke: Lessons from China

Workflow and Outcome of Thrombectomy in Late Time Window: A Pooled Multicenter Analysis

BACKGROUND

We investigated the impact of workflow times on the outcomes of patients treated with endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) in the late time window.

METHODS

Individual patients' data who underwent EVT in the late time window (onset to imaging >6 hours) were pooled from seven registries and randomized clinical trials. Multiple time intervals were analyzed. Mixed-effects logistic regression was used to estimate the likelihood of functional independence at 90 days (modified Rankin Scale 0-2). Mixed-effects negative binomial regression was used to evaluate the relationship between patient characteristics and workflow time intervals.

RESULTS

608 patients were included. The median age was 70 years (IQR: 58-71), 307 (50.5%) were female, and 310 (53.2%) had wake-up strokes. Successful reperfusion was achieved in 493 (81.2%) patients, and 262 (44.9%) achieved 90-day mRS 0-2. The estimated odds of functional independence decreased by 13% for every 30 minute delay from emergency department (ED) arrival to imaging time and by 7% from ED arrival to the end of EVT in the entire cohort. Also, the estimated odds of functional independence decreased by 33% for every 30 minute delay in the interval from arterial puncture to end of EVT, 16% in the interval from arrival in ED to end of EVT and 6% in the interval from stroke onset to end of EVT among patients who had a wake-up stroke.

CONCLUSION

Faster workflow from ED arrival to end of EVT is associated with improved functional independence among stroke patients treated in the late window.

Factors Affecting the Delay of intravenous Thrombolysis in Hyperacute Ischemic Stroke Patients: A Single Centre Study

Introduction

Intravenous thrombolysis with r-tPA is the gold standard procedure in managing acute ischemic stroke recommended by the World Stroke Association, which is performed by injecting the drug r-tPA (Alteplase) intravenously. Generally, the preparation time to achieve thrombolysis is divided into pre-hospital and in-hospital. If this time can be shortened, the efficacy of thrombolysis can be increased. This study aims to determine the factors that can affect the delay in thrombolysis.

Methods

This is an analytic observational study with a retrospective cohort design in ischemic stroke confirmed by a neurologist at the neurology emergency unit of Hasan Sadikin Hospital (RSHS) from January 2021 to December 2021 and divided into two groups, delay and non-delay thrombolysis. A logistic regression test was performed to determine the independent predictor of delayed thrombolysis.

Results

There were 141 patients with an ischemic stroke diagnosis confirmed by a neurologist at the neurological emergency unit at Hasan Sadikin Hospital (RSHS) from January 2021 to December 2021. A total of 118 (83.69%) patients were included in the "delay" category, while 23 (16.31%) patients were included in the "non-delay" category. Patients included in the "delay" category had an average age of 58.29+11.19 years with a male-to-female sex ratio of 57%, while patients included in the "non-delay" category had an average age of 55.57+15.55 years with a male-to-female sex ratio of 66%. The NIHSS admission score was a significant risk factor for delayed thrombolysis. Through multiple logistic regression, it was found that age, onset, female gender, NIHSS admission score, and NIHSS discharge score were independent predictors of delayed thrombolysis. However, all of them were not statistically significant.

Conclusion

Gender, risk factors for dyslipidemia, and arrival onset are independent predictors of delayed thrombolysis. Prehospital factors contribute relatively more to the delay in thrombolytic action.

Early arrival did not ensure the early acquisition of intravenous thrombosis for acute ischemic stroke during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is a time-dependent treatment with a narrow therapeutic time window, in which the time delay could result from the deadline effect.

METHODS

One hospital-based cohort was recruited to detect the factors contributing to the deadline effect, where patients with the deadline effect were defined as those who were presented with the onset-to-door time (ODT) in the first 50%, while the door-to-needle time (DNT) was in the last quartile. DNT (in-hospital delay) was further subdivided into several time intervals [door-to-examination time (DET), door-to-imaging time (DIT), door-to-laboratory time (DLT), and decision-making time (DMT) of the patients or their proxies.

RESULTS

A total of 186 IVT cases were enrolled, of which 17.2% (32/186) suffered a delay of the deadline effect. The median age was 66 years, and 35.5% were female. Baseline characteristics were similar between the two groups (all p > .05). For the comparisons of the time intervals, DIT (26 versus 15 min, p = .001) was significantly longer in the group with deadline effect, while the differences of DET, DLT, DMT, and ONT did not reach statistical significance (all p > .05). Upon multivariable adjustment in the binary logistic regression model, longer DIT [odds ratio (OR), 1.076; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.036-1.118; p < .001], and history of coronary heart disease (OR, 3.898; 95%CI, 1.415-10.735; p = .008) were independently associated with deadline effect in the binary logistic regression model, while admitted in the working day (OR, 0.674; 95%CI, 0.096-0.907; p = .033), and having medical insurance (OR, 0.350; 95% CI, 0.132-0.931; p = .035) were negatively associated with the deadline effect.

CONCLUSIONS

A speed-safety tradeoff phenomenon from the deadline effect was observed in 17.2% of IVT cases during the COVID-19 pandemic, where longer DIT contributed a lot to this time delay. Patients without medical insurance, or admitted in official holidays were more likely to experience a delay of the deadline effect.

If Time is Neuron, What Are We Waiting for?

How to cite this article: Samavedam S. If Time is Neuron, What Are We Waiting for? Indian J Crit Care Med 2023;27(2):87-88.

Treatment delay from aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage to endovascular treatment: a high-volume hospital experience

Background

Early treatment for patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) could significantly reduce the risk of re-bleeding and improve clinical outcomes. We assessed the different time intervals from the initial hemorrhage, admission, and endovascular treatment and identified the risk factors contributing to delay.

Methods

Between February 2017 and December 2019, 422 consecutive aSAH patients treated in a high-volume hospital were collected and reviewed. Risk factors contributing to admission delay and treatment delay were analyzed with univariate and multivariate analysis.

Results

One hundred twenty-two (28.9%) were admitted to the high-volume hospital at the day of symptom onset and 386 (91.5%) were treated with endovascular management at the same day of admission. The multivariate analysis found that younger age (P = 0.022, OR = 0.981, 95% CI 0.964–0.997) and good Fisher score (P = 0.002, OR = 0.420, 95% CI 0.245–0.721) were independent risk factors of admission delay. None was found to be related with treatment delay. Multivariate analysis (OR (95% CI)) showed that higher age 1.027 (1.004–1.050), poorer Fisher score 3.496 (1.993–6.135), larger aneurysmal size 1.112 (1.017–1.216), and shorter interval between onset to admission 1.845 (1.018–3.344) were independent risk factors of poorer clinical outcome.

Conclusion

Treatment delay was mainly caused by pre-hospital delay including delayed admission and delayed transfer. Our experience showed that cerebrovascular team could provide early treatment for aSAH patients. Younger age and good Fisher score were significantly related with admission delay. However, admission delay was further significantly correlated with better clinical outcome.

GRP per capita and hospital characteristics associated with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator adherence rate: evidence from the Chinese Stroke Center Alliance

Background

Timely delivery of intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV-rt PA) is pivotal to eligible patients who had a stroke while achieving higher rates of IV-rt PA has been problematic. This paper focuses on investigating influential factors associated with the administration of IV-rt PA, primarily per capita gross regional product (GRP) and healthcare system factors.

Methods

The study included 980 hospitals in the Chinese Stroke Center Alliance where 158 003 patients who had an acute ischaemic stroke received IV-rt PA between August 2015 and August 2019. The adherence rate to IV-rt PA within 4.5 hours time window in each hospital was the primary outcome. Influential factors were grouped into two categories: macroeconomic status and hospital characteristics. The outcome was analysed using multivariable linear regression.

Results

GRP per capita (β=2.37, p<0.001), hospital stroke centre certification (β=3.77, p<0.001), number of neurologists (β=0.12, p<0.001), existence of emergency services for neurological treatment (β=7.43, p=0.014), presence of emergency department (β=10.03, p=0.019) and cooperating with emergency centre (β=4.65, p=0.029) were significantly positively associated with the adherence rate to IV-rt PA.

Conclusions

Higher GRP per capita, affluent neurological personnel, well-equipped emergency services for neurological treatment and routine cooperation with the emergency centre were important for enhancing the adherence rate to IV-rt PA among patients who had an acute ischaemic stroke in China.

Factors delaying intravenous thrombolytic therapy in acute ischaemic stroke: a systematic review of the literature

BACKGROUND/AIMS

This review examined factors that delay thrombolysis and what management strategies are currently employed to minimise this delay, with the aim of suggesting future directions to overcome bottlenecks in treatment delivery.

METHODS

A systematic review was performed according to PRISMA guidelines. The search strategy included a combination of synonyms and controlled vocabularies from Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and EmTree covering brain ischemia, cerebrovascular accident, fibrinolytic therapy and Alteplase. The search was conducted using Medline (OVID), Embase (OVID), PubMed and Cochrane Library databases using truncations and Boolean operators. The literature search excluded review articles, trial protocols, opinion pieces and case reports. Inclusion criteria were: (1) The article directly related to thrombolysis in ischaemic stroke, and (2) The article examined at least one factor contributing to delay in thrombolytic therapy.

RESULTS

One hundred and fifty-two studies were included. Pre-hospital factors resulted in the greatest delay to thrombolysis administration. In-hospital factors relating to assessment, imaging and thrombolysis administration also contributed. Long onset-to-needle times were more common in those with atypical, or less severe, symptoms, the elderly, patients from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and those living alone. Various strategies currently exist to reduce delays. Processes which have achieved the greatest improvements in time to thrombolysis are those which integrate out-of-hospital and in-hospital processes, such as the Helsinki model.

CONCLUSION

Further integrated processes are required to maximise patient benefit from thrombolysis. Expansion of community education to incorporate less common symptoms and provision of alert pagers for patients may provide further reduction in thrombolysis times.

Lack of Correlation Between Intracranial Carotid Artery Modified Woodcock Calcification Score and Prognosis of Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke After Intravenous Thrombolysis

There have been few studies about the association between intracranial carotid artery calcification (ICAC) and acute ischemic stroke (AIS) prognosis after intravenous thrombolysis (IVT). We aimed to analyze the association between ICAC and prognosis (including symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH), functional outcome and death) of AIS patients treated with IVT. In this retrospective study, we consecutively included 232 AIS patients treated with IVT between April 2012 and December 2018. ICAC was evaluated using the modified Woodcock calcification visual score on non-enhanced cranial computed tomography scans. Poor functional outcome was defined as a modified Rankin Scale score > 2 at 3 months. We found that the modified Woodcock calcification score was associated with ICH, poor outcome, and death in univariable analyses on the symptomatic side and/or bilaterally. However, after adjustment for other different covariates, the results showed no significant difference. We documented that the presence and severity of ICAC did not significantly modify the beneficial effects of rtPA treatment in AIS.

Factors affecting in-hospital delay of intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke: A retrospective cohort study

This study was designed to investigate the factors affecting the in-hospital delay of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS).Two hundred and forty-eight consecutive AIS patients treated with intravenous administration of alteplase in Gansu Provincial Hospital from December 2014 to August 2018 were enrolled retrospectively in this study. According to door-to-needle (DTN) time, the patients were divided into either a delay group (DTN time > 60 minutes; n = 184) or a non-delay group (DTN time ≤60 minutes; n = 64). The baseline data, laboratory tests, onset-to-door (OTD) time, door-to-accepting time (DTA), door-to-imaging time (DTI), and decision-making time in both groups were recorded. Multivariate logistic analysis was performed to analyze the data.There were significant differences in previous history of cerebral ischemic attack, emergency system admission, education degree of decision makers, annual income, admission National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), OTD time, DTA time, decision-making time between the 2 groups (all P < .05). Other baseline data and clinical features showed no significant difference between 2 groups (P > .05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the risk of in-hospital delay was lower for the higher NIHSS score (OR = 0.775, 95% CI: 0.644-0.933, P = .007), the longer OTD time (OR = 0.963, 95% CI: 0.937-0.991, P = .010), the shorter decision-making time (OR = 1.224, 95% CI: 1.004-1.492, P = .045).This study suggested that NIHSS score, OTD time and decision-making time are the independent factors affecting the in-hospital delay of IVT for AIS.

Effects of time delays on the therapeutic outcomes of intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke in the posterior circulation: An observational study

OBJECTIVES

We aim to demonstrate the effects of time delays on the therapeutic outcomes of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in acute posterior circulation stroke (PCS) patients.

METHODS

Consecutive PCS cases treated with IVT alone were retrospectively examined. The primary end point was set to be a favorable outcome (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] ≤2) at 3 months, and angiographic recanalization was set to be the secondary outcome.

RESULTS

A total of 95 PCS cases with IVT were recruited. The patients with favorable outcomes and those without favorable outcomes had similar baseline characteristics, except for significantly lower National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores (5 vs. 12, respectively; p < 0.001) and less hyperdense basilar artery signs in head CTs (26.5% vs. 70.4%, respectively; p < 0.001) for those with favorable outcomes. For patients with an onset-to-treatment time (OTT) of 0-90 min (n = 5), 91-180 min (n = 38), 181-270 min (n = 37), or ≧271 min (n = 15), the rate of favorable outcome was 100.0%, 71.1%, 67.6%, or 73.3%, respectively, and the Cochran-Armitage trend test showed no linear trend between the OTT and the clinical prognosis of IVT in PCS (p = 0.501) patients. In addition, the rates of recanalization were 100.0%, 68.4%, 64.9%, and 46.7%, and the Cochran-Armitage trend test suggested a linear trend between the OTT and recanalization (p = 0.046); that is, the proportion of PCS patients who underwent recanalization decreased with increasing OTTs. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for confounding factors with p ≦ 0.20 in the univariate analysis, baseline NIHSS scores and hyperdense basilar artery signs were negatively associated with favorable outcomes, with odds ratios (OR) of 0.884 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.804-0.971; p = 0.010) and 0.208 (95% CI, 0.062-0.693; p = 0.011), respectively. In addition, there was a negative association between recanalization, OTTs (OR, 0.993, 95% CI, 0.987-0.999; p = 0.029), and baseline NIHSS scores (OR, 0.881, 95% CI, 0.802-0.967; p = 0.008).

CONCLUSION

Irrespective of stroke severity, the therapeutic effects of recanalization after IVT decreased significantly with longer time delays in PCS patients.

Prehospital notification can effectively reduce in-hospital delay for thrombolysis in acute stroke

Aim: To reduce in-hospital intervals by developing a prehospital notification (PHN) protocol which directly notifies a neurologist to prepare for possible treatment. Methods: A 24/7 connection was established between emergency medical services dispatch and the on-call neurologist. A database of all patients with in-hospital stroke code activation was developed, door-to-computed tomography (CT) time and door-to-needle time was recorded from January 2013 to December 2016. The statistical results were considered significant at p < 0.05. Result: PHN resulted in a significant reduction in door-to-CT time (median 14 vs 20; p < 0.001). Among patients who were treated with intravenous thrombolysis, door-to-needle time was significantly shorter in patients with PHN compared with non-PHN group (median 42 vs 70; p < 0.001). Conclusion: PHN effectively reduced door-to-CT and door-to-needle times.

Positive impact of the participation in the ENCHANTED trial in reducing Door-to-Needle Time

Door-to-needle time (DNT) is a key performance indicator for efficient use of intravenous thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). We aimed to determine whether DNT improved over time in the Enhanced Control of Hypertension and Acute Stroke Study (ENCHANTED) and the clinical predictors of DNT. Temporal trends in DNT were assessed across fourths of time since activation of study centers using generalized linear model. Predictors of long DNT (>60 min) were determined in logistic regression models. Overall mean DNT (min) was 71.8 (95% confidence interval [CI] 70.4–73.2), but decreased significantly over time (fourths): 77.9 (74.9–80.9), 69.3 (66.7–72.0), 69.1 (66.5–71.8) and 71.4 (68.7–74.2) (P for trend, 0.003). The reduction in DNT was particularly marked in China (P for trend, 0.001), but was not significant across the other participating countries (P for trend, 0.065). Independent predictors of long DNT were recruitment from China, short onset-to-door time, lower numbers of patients treated per center, higher diastolic blood pressure, off-hour admission, and absence of proximal clot occlusion. DNT in ENCHANTED declined progressively during the trial, especially in China. However, DNT in China is still longer than the key performance parameter of ≤60 minutes recommended in guidelines. Effective national programs are needed to improve DNT in China.

New standardized nursing cooperation workflow to reduce stroke thrombolysis delays in patients with acute ischemic stroke

OBJECTIVE

We assessed the effectiveness of a new standardized nursing cooperation workflow in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) to reduce stroke thrombolysis delays.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

AIS patients receiving conventional thrombolysis treatment from March to September 2015 were included in the control group, referred to as T0. The intervention group, referred to as T1 group, consisted of AIS patients receiving a new standardized nursing cooperation workflow for intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) at the emergency department of Shanghai East Hospital (Shanghai, People's Republic of China) from October 2015 to March 2016. Information was collected on the following therapeutic techniques used: application or not of thrombolysis, computed tomography (CT) time, and door-to-needle (DTN) time. A nursing coordinator who helped patients fulfill the medical examinations and diagnosis was appointed to T1 group. In addition, a nurse was sent immediately from the stroke unit to the emergency department to aid the thrombolysis treatment.

RESULTS

The average value of the door-to-CT initiation time was 38.67±5.21 min in the T0 group, whereas it was 14.39±4.35 min in the T1 group; the average values of CT completion-to-needle time were 55.06±4.82 and 30.26±3.66 min; the average values of DTN time were 100.43±6.05 and 55.68±3.62 min, respectively; thrombolysis time was improved from 12.8% (88/689) in the T0 group to 32.5% (231/712) in the T1 group (all P<0.01). In addition, the new standardized nursing cooperation workflow decreased the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores at 24 h (P<0.01) (T0: prethrombolysis, 6.97±3.98; 24 h postthrombolysis, 3.33±2.09; 2 weeks postthrombolysis, 2.25±1.01 and T1: prethrombolysis, 7.00±3.89; 24 h postthrombolysis, 2.60±1.66; 2 weeks postthrombolysis, 2.21±1.02).

CONCLUSION

The new standardized nursing cooperation workflow reduced stroke thrombolysis delays in patients with AIS.

Generalization of the Right Acute Stroke Prevention Strategies in Reducing in-Hospital Delays

The aim of this study was to reduce the door-to-needle (DTN) time of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) through a comprehensive, hospital-based implementation strategy. The intervention involved a systemic literature review, identifying barriers to rapid IVT treatment at our hospital, setting target DTN time intervals, and building an evolving model for IVT candidate selection. The rate of non-in-hospital delay (DTN time ≤ 60 min) was set as the primary endpoint. A total of 348 IVT cases were enrolled in the study (202 and 146 in the pre- and post-intervention group, respectively). The median age was 61 years in both groups; 25.2% and 26.7% of patients in the pre- and post-intervention groups, respectively, were female. The post-intervention group had higher rates of dyslipidemia and minor stroke [defined as National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) ≤ 3]; less frequent atrial fibrillation; higher numbers of current smokers, heavy drinkers, referrals, and multi-model head imaging cases; and lower NIHSS scores and blood sugar level (all P < 0.05). All parameters including DTN, door-to-examination, door-to-imaging, door-to-laboratory, and final-test-to-needle times were improved post-intervention (all P < 0.05), with net reductions of 63, 2, 4, 28, and 23 min, respectively. The rates of DTN time ≤ 60 min and onset-to-needle time ≤ 180 min were significantly improved by the intervention (pre: 9.9% vs. post: 60.3%; P < 0.001 and pre: 23.3% vs. post: 53.4%; P < 0.001, respectively), which was accompanied by an increase in the rate of neurological improvement (pre: 45.5% vs. post: 59.6%; P = 0.010), while there was no change in incidence of mortality or systemic intracranial hemorrhage at discharge (both P > 0.05). These findings indicate that it is possible to achieve a DTN time ≤ 60 min for up to 60% of hospitals in the current Chinese system, and that this logistical change can yield a notable improvement in the outcome of IVT patients.

Effective management of patients with acute ischemic stroke based on lean production on thrombolytic flow optimization

The efficacy of thrombolytic therapy for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) decreases when the administration of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is delayed. Derived from Toyota Production System, lean production aims to create top-quality products with high-efficiency procedures, a concept that easily applies to emergency medicine. In this study, we aimed to determine whether applying lean principles to flow optimization could hasten the initiation of thrombolysis. A multidisciplinary team (Stroke Team) was organized to implement an ongoing, continuous loop of lean production that contained the following steps: decomposition, recognition, intervention, reengineering and assessment. The door-to-needle time (DNT) and the percentage of patients with DNT ≤ 60 min before and after the adoption of lean principles were used to evaluate the efficiency of our flow optimization. Thirteen patients with AIS in the pre-lean period and 43 patients with AIS in the lean period (23 in lean period I and 20 patients in lean period II) were consecutively enrolled in our study. After flow optimization, we reduced DNT from 90 to 47 min (p < 0.001^¤). In addition, the percentage of patients treated ≤60 min after hospital arrival increased from 38.46 to 75.0 % (p = 0.015^¤). Adjusted analysis of covariance confirmed a significant influence of optimization on delay of tPA administration (p < 0.001). The patients were more likely to have a good prognosis (mRS ≤ 2 at 90 days) after the flow optimization (30.77-75.00 %, p = 0.012^¤). Our study may offer an effective approach for optimizing the thrombolytic flow in the management of AIS.