Abstract
Background:
Thrombolytic treatment has been used with varying frequency among pediatric ischemic stroke patients.
Objective:
To evaluate trends in utilization of IV recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) and associated rates of death and disability among acute ischemic stroke patients over a six year period.
Methods:
We obtained data for pediatric patients (aged ≤18 years) admitted to United States in 2003, 2006 and 2009 with a primary diagnosis of ischemic stroke using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS-KID). We determined the rate and pattern of utilization, and associated in-hospital outcomes of IV-rt-PA including post-thrombolytic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and rates death among pediatric ischemic stroke patients.
Results:
Of the 5,137 pediatric patients admitted with ischemic stroke, 48 (0.93%) received IV rt-PA during the study period. There was a 2.5 fold increase in rates of patients who received the thrombolytic treatment (0.53% in 2003, 0.87% in 2006 and 1.35% in 2009). The rate of post-thrombolytic ICH was 9.6% with no change in frequency over the three periods. The overall rate of post-thrombolytic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) was 9.6% with a trend towards decrease in rates (41%, 9.8%, and 0%) in 2003, 2006, and 2009. The overall rate of in hospital mortality was 9.6% with some decrease in rates (17.2%, 13.0%, and 5.9%, p value for trend=0.7).
Conclusion:
There has been a significant increase in the proportion of pediatric acute ischemic stroke patients receiving IV rt-PA treatment with some evidence of decrease in adverse outcomes at discharge.