Table 4.

Medical management of stroke patient during hospital stay

		Before the introduction of pathway	After the introduction of pathway	p-value
Investigations during the admission	CT scan in 1st 48 hrs	96%	92%	0.293
	Carotid duplex ultrasound	26%	28%	0.817
	Echocardiogram	42%	26%	0.047
	ESR or CRP in 1st 48 hrs	57%	61%	0.143
	Fasting blood sugar and lipids	32%	44%	0.143
	MRI	10%	5%	0.238
Specific medical issues	Aspirin given in first 48 hours to patients without contraindications	26/55 (46%)	40/66 (61%)	0.117
	Paracetamol given to those with fever > 38°C in first 48 hours	3/4 (75%)	5/5 (100%)	0.574
	Acute blood pressure management consistent with guideline	63.6%	71.1%	0.328
	Prophylaxis for deep vein thrombosis (except aspirin)	20.8%	14.5%	0.306
	Hypoglycemic agents given to those with blood sugar >15 mmol/l in first 48 hours	1/2 (50%)	2/2 (100%)	0.312
Risk factor treatment at discharge	Anti-hypertensive treatment if sBP>140 or dBP>90 at any time during admission	44/50 (88%)	51/58 (88%)	0.242
	Warfarin if ECG shows atrial fibrillation	6/18 (33%)	4/10 (40%)	0.264
	Statin if total cholesterol > 3.5	42/55 (76%)	48/61 (79%)	0.341
	Cessation programme for current smokers	5/10 (50%)	8/10 (80%)	0.638
	Optimisation of glycemic control if diabetes present	8/12 (67%)	8/9 (100%)	0.410
	US carotid arteries requested or performed if anterior circulation infarct	19/60 (32%)	24/59 (41%)	0.610