Long-Term Survival After Intravenous Thrombolysis for Ischemic Stroke [Clinical Sciences]

Background and Purpose—Intravenous thrombolysis with alteplase is one of the few approved treatments for acute ischemic stroke; nevertheless, little is known about its long-term effects on survival and recovery because clinical trials follow-up times are limited.Methods—Patients registered between January 2005 and December 2015, to the population-based South London Stroke Register of first-ever strokes. Propensity score was used to match thrombolyzed and control cases to a 1:2 ratio by demographical and clinical covariates. The primary outcome was survival up to 10 years using Kaplan–Meier estimates, Cox proportional hazards, and restricted mean survival time. Secondary outcomes included stroke recurrence and functional status (Barthel Index and Frenchay Activities Index scores) at 5 years.Results—From 2052 ischemic strokes, 246 treated patients were matched to 492 controls. Median follow-up time 5.45 years (interquartile range, 4.56). Survival was higher in the treatment group (median, 5.72 years) compared with control group (4.98 years, stratified log-rank test
Source: Stroke - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Cerebrovascular Disease/Stroke, Ischemic Stroke Original Contributions Source Type: research