Abstract WMP88: Shorter Door-to-Needle Times of Intravenous Alteplase Improve “Efficiency” of Care and Moderately Affect “Quality” of Care: Study Based on a Large Comprehensive Stroke Center

• Published in: Stroke (1970) 2020-02, Vol.51 (Suppl_1)
• Main Authors: Rajan, Suja S, Wise, Jessica N, Decker-palmer, Marquita, Dao, Thanh, Salem, Cynthia, Savitz, Sean I
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0039-2499; 1524-4628
• DOI: 10.1161/str.51.suppl_1.WMP88

Abstract only Introduction: The American Heart Association (AHA) recently raised the bar on timely treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) with intravenous (IV) alteplase, by recommending door-to-needle times of 30 minutes or less for 50% or more of the AIS patients. Our study looks at the effectiveness of this new standard, by examining the effect of varying door-to-needle times on efficiency and quality of care, and clinical outcomes. Methods: Our study examined 762 AIS patients treated with IV alteplase in a large academic health system from 2015-2018, and compared their outcomes after treatment within 30, 45 and 60 minutes of arrival. The outcomes compared were: 1) Efficiency of care outcome - Length of stay (LOS); 2) Quality of care outcomes - Inpatient mortality and Disability at discharge; 3) Clinical outcomes - Discharge and 90-day modified Rankin Scale (mRS), and Post-alteplase (24 hr) NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS). Adjusted logistic and linear regression analyses were used, after controlling for baseline patient socio-demographic and clinical characteristics. Results: Based on the adjusted regression analyses (Table 1), being treated within 30 minutes of arrival reduced the average LOS by 1.3 days (p-value: 0.02), but did not affect the quality of care outcomes. Similarly, being treated within 45 minutes of arrival reduced LOS by 0.9 days (p-value: 0.04). Being treated within 60 minutes of arrival did not affect LOS, but reduced the odds of inpatient mortality by 68% (p-value: 0.00), and disability at discharge by 29% (p-value: 0.08). Being treated within 30 minutes of arrival was associated with better mRS and NIHSS scores as compared with being treated within 45 or 60 minutes. Conclusion: Quicker IV alteplase treatment significantly improved efficiency of care and clinical outcomes. Quality of care outcomes did not improve beyond the 60 minute door-to-needle threshold. This study provides evidence supporting AHA’s new recommendation of 30 minutes or less door-to-needle time.