Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of all stroke alerts.
| All Patients (n = 719) |
Referred by EMS (n = 493) |
Referred by A Physician (n = 226) |
p-Value | Before Lockdown (n = 468) |
During Lockdown (n = 251) |
p-Value | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female, n (%) | 431 | 59.9 | 286 | 58 | 145 | 64.2 | 0.118 | 280 | 59.8 | 151 | 60.2 | 0.931 |
| Mean age, years (SD) | 72.3 | 13.3 | 73 | 12.4 | 70.7 | 14.9 | 0.139 | 72.2 | 13.5 | 72.4 | 12.9 | 0.894 |
| All strokes, n (%) | 472 | 65.6 | 378 | 76.7 | 94 | 41.6 | 304 | 65.0 | 168 | 66.9 | ||
| Ischaemic stroke | 397 | 55.2 | 321 | 65.1 | 76 | 33.6 | <0.001 | 246 | 52.6 | 151 | 60.2 | 0.051 |
| Haemorrhagic stroke | 42 | 5.8 | 36 | 7.3 | 6 | 2.7 | 0.014 | 31 | 6.6 | 11 | 4.4 | 0.222 |
| ICH | 36 | 5 | 31 | 6.3 | 5 | 2.2 | 0.026 | 26 | 5.6 | 10 | 4.0 | 0.357 |
| SAH | 6 | 0.8 | 5 | 1.0 | 1 | 0.4 | 0.671 | 5 | 1.1 | 1 | 0.4 | 0.671 |
| Transient ischaemic attack | 33 | 4.6 | 21 | 4.3 | 12 | 5.3 | 0.532 | 27 | 5.8 | 6 | 2.4 | 0.039 |
| Stroke mimics, n (%) | 247 | 34.4 | 115 | 23.3 | 132 | 58.4 | <0.001 | 164 | 35 | 83 | 33.1 | 0.595 |
| Daily volume, median (IQR) | ||||||||||||
| Stroke alerts | 3 | (2–5) | 2 | (1–4) | 1 | (0–2) | <0.001 | 4 | (3–6) | 3 | (1–4) | <0.001 |
| Confirmed strokes | 2 | (1–3) | 2 | (1–2) | 0 | (0–1) | <0.001 | 3 | (2–4) | 2 | (1–2) | <0.001 |
| Reperfusion, n (%) † | 108 | 27.2 | 101 | 31.5 | 7 | 9.2 | 66 | 26.8 | 42 | 27.8 | ||
| Not eligible | 289 | 72.8 | 220 | 68.5 | 69 | 90.8 | <0.001 | 180 | 73.2 | 109 | 72.2 | 0.830 |
| IVT | 50 | 12.6 | 49 | 15.3 | 1 | 1.3 | <0.001 | 33 | 13.4 | 17 | 11.3 | 0.530 |
| EVT | 40 | 10.1 | 35 | 10.9 | 5 | 6.6 | 0.395 | 24 | 9.8 | 16 | 10.6 | 0.787 |
| Combined treatment | 18 | 4.5 | 17 | 5.3 | 1 | 1.3 | 0.217 | 9 | 3.7 | 9 | 6.0 | 0.285 |
| Median timeliness metrics, min (IQR) | ||||||||||||
| Onset−to−door ‡ | 138.5 | (82–274) | 116 | (76–245) | 245 | (145–378) | <0.001 | 120.5 | (79–247) | 153 | (89–329) | 0.049 |
| Door−to−needle | 37 | (25–51) | 37 | (26–50) | 35.5 | (-) | 0.790 | 39.5 | (25–51) | 35 | (27–46) | 0.557 |
| Door−to−groin | 86 | (65–103) | 86 | (66–103) | 83.5 | (60–112) | 0.918 | 85 | (60–107) | 87 | (68–103) | 0.946 |
| Baseline NIHSS, median (IQR) § | 7 | (4–15) | 8 | (4–15) | 6.5 | (3–12) | 0.175 | 8 | (4–16) | 7 | (4–14) | 0.415 |
| Missing NIHSS, n (%) | 167 | 42.1 | 113 | 35.2 | 54 | 71.1 | 110 | 44.7 | 57 | 37.7 | ||
| Discharge NIHSS, median (IQR) § | 3 | (1–6) | 3 | (1–6) | 2.5 | (0–5) | 0.501 | 3 | (1–6) | 3 | (1–5) | 0.914 |
| Missing NIHSS, n (%) | 267 | 67.3 | 203 | 63.2 | 64 | 84.2 | 168 | 68.3 | 99 | 65.6 | ||
EMS, emergency medical services; SD, standard deviation; ICH, intracerebral haemorrhage; SAH, subarachnoid haemorrhage; IQR, interquartile range; IVT, intravenous thrombolysis; EVT, endovascular treatment; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale. † Percentage of all ischaemic strokes. ‡ Only patients with established onset of symptoms are included (n = 282). § NIHSS is reported only for ischaemic stroke patients who were considered for reperfusion therapy.