Delay in hospital admission after acute stroke

Introduction and objective. We analyze the main factors influencing the time delay between onset and admission to the hospital in acute stroke. Patients and methods. Consecutive series of 1,344 patients with acute stroke or transient ischemic attack admitted at two reference hospitals of Valencia and included at the same stroke register. Factors assessed were age, sex, vascular. risk factors, stroke onset and arrival at hospital, stroke severity and stroke subtype. Results. In 30% of patients the stroke onset time was unknown. 70.7% of patients with acute stroke, and known onset, arrived to the hospital in the pi st six hours. The median time fi om onset to admission was. TIA, 2 hours; cerebral infarct, 3 hours (lacunar infarcts 5 hours, non-lactunar infarcts 2 hours) and intracerebral hemorrhage, 2 hours. Patients with severe stroke arrive earlier at the hospital (p< 0.001). Neither sex, age, nor vascular risk factors influence the delay lime. Conclusions. The arrival time varies with stroke subtype: patients with intracerebral hemorrhage or TIA arrive earlier than those with cerebral in far ct, and non-lacunar infarcts earlier than lacunar ones. Furthermore, patients with severe stroke ave admitted sooner at the hospital [REV NEUROL 1998; 27. 947-51].