Table 1.
Characteristics of EMS suspected stroke patients by census tract characteristics
| Characteristics | Overall (N = 9527), no. (%) | Urban–rural status | Socioeconomic status | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urban (n = 5424), no. (%) | Suburban (n = 3217), no. (%) | Rural (n = 886), no. (%) | High (n = 2809), no. (%) | Medium (n = 3424), no. (%) | Low (n = 3294), no. (%) | ||
| Age group, y | |||||||
| 18–54 | 1498 (16) | 853 (16) | 510 (16) | 135 (15) | 375 (13) | 541 (16) | 582 (18) |
| 55–64 | 1801 (19) | 1009 (19) | 631 (20) | 161 (18) | 416 (15) | 647 (19) | 738 (22) |
| 65–74 | 2317 (24) | 1307 (24) | 805 (25) | 205 (23) | 655 (23) | 816 (24) | 846 (26) |
| ≥75 | 3911 (41) | 2255 (42) | 1271 (40) | 385 (43) | 1363 (49) | 1420 (41) | 1128 (34) |
| Sex | |||||||
| Female | 5200 (55) | 2985 (55) | 1725 (54) | 490 (55) | 1529 (55) | 1910 (56) | 1761 (54) |
| Male | 4315 (45) | 2433 (45) | 1487 (46) | 395 (45) | 1276 (45) | 1509 (44) | 1530 (46) |
| Missing | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Race/ethnicity | |||||||
| Black or African American | 2479 (27) | 1581 (30) | 676 (22) | 222 (26) | 479 (17) | 789 (23) | 1211 (38) |
| White | 6635 (71) | 3641 (68) | 2382 (76) | 612 (72) | 2214 (80) | 2519 (75) | 1902 (59) |
| Hispanic | 138 (1) | 86 (2) | 41 (1) | 11 (1) | 47 (2) | 53 (2) | 38 (1) |
| Other | 104 (1) | 50 (1) | 45 (1) | 9 (1) | 34 (1) | 16 (0.5) | 54 (2) |
| Missing | 171 | 66 | 73 | 32 | 35 | 47 | 89 |
| Duration of complaint | |||||||
| <3 h | 6340 (71) | 3532 (70) | 2191 (72) | 617 (75) | 1829 (72) | 2298 (70) | 2213 (72) |
| 3–6 h | 658 (7) | 388 (8) | 217 (7) | 53 (6) | 195 (8) | 243 (7) | 220 (7) |
| 6–24 h | 1314 (15) | 776 (15) | 440 (14) | 98 (12) | 359 (14) | 517 (16) | 438 (14) |
| >24 h | 562 (6) | 317 (6) | 190 (6) | 55 (7) | 154 (6) | 215 (7) | 193 (6) |
| Missing | 653 | 411 | 179 | 63 | 272 | 151 | 230 |
| Weekend | 2457 (26) | 1383 (26) | 841 (26) | 233 (26) | 689 (25) | 881 (26) | 887 (27) |
| Time of day | |||||||
| 7 AM–3 PM | 2664 (28) | 1503 (28) | 913 (28) | 248 (28) | 785 (28) | 925 (27) | 954 (29) |
| 3 PM–11 PM | 4713 (49) | 2717 (50) | 1556 (48) | 440 (50) | 1415 (50) | 1689 (49) | 1609 (49) |
| 11 PM–7 AM | 2150 (23) | 1204 (22) | 748 (23) | 198 (22) | 609 (22) | 810 (24) | 731 (22) |
| Stroke complaint by 9–1–1 dispatch | 5570 (58) | 3147 (58) | 1888 (59) | 535 (60) | 1712 (61) | 2035 (59) | 1823 (55) |
| EMS provider primary impression | |||||||
| Stroke | 7690 (86) | 4484 (87) | 2524 (85) | 682 (85) | 2334 (87) | 2766 (86) | 2590 (85) |
| Altered mental status | 480 (5) | 262 (5) | 166 (6) | 52 (6) | 140 (5) | 169 (5) | 171 (6) |
| Weakness | 272 (3) | 154 (3) | 93 (3) | 25 (3) | 77 (3) | 112 (3) | 83 (3) |
| Other | 501 (6) | 271 (5) | 183 (6) | 47 (6) | 147 (5) | 168 (5) | 186 (6) |
| Missing | 584 | 253 | 251 | 80 | 111 | 209 | 264 |
| Stroke screen interpretation | |||||||
| Positive | 5484 (58) | 2992 (55) | 1978 (61) | 514 (58) | 1559 (56) | 1958 (57) | 1967 (60) |
| Nonconclusive | 1149 (12) | 557 (10) | 457 (14) | 135 (15) | 217 (8) | 426 (12) | 506 (15) |
| Negative | 2894 (30) | 1875 (35) | 782 (24) | 237 (27) | 1033 (37) | 1040 (30) | 821 (25) |
EMS, emergency medical services.