Oh my, excuses being made for poorer results from Transfer-In patients. I expect 100% recovery for all. If that is not your goal get the hell out of stroke.
Originally published1 Sep 2018Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. 2018;11:e003359
Abstract
Background
While
many patients are transferred to specialized stroke centers for
advanced acute ischemic stroke (AIS) care, few studies have
characterized these patients. We sought to determine variation in the
rates and differences in the baseline characteristics and clinical
outcomes between AIS cases presenting directly to stroke centers’ front
door versus Transfer-Ins from another hospital.
Methods and Results
We
analyzed 970 390 AIS cases in the Get With The Guidelines–Stroke
registry from January 2010 to March 2014 to compare hospitals with high
Transfer-In rates (≥15%) versus those with low Transfer-In rates
(<5%) and to compare the front-door versus Transfer-In patients
admitted to those hospitals with high Transfer-In rates (high
Transfer-In hospitals). Of 970 390 patients discharged from 1646
hospitals, 87% initially presented via the emergency department versus
13% were a Transfer-In from another hospital. High Transfer-In hospitals
had a median 31% Transfer-In rate among all stroke discharges, were
larger, had higher annual AIS volume and intravenous tPA (tissue-type
plasminogen activator) rates, and were more often Midwest teaching
hospitals and stroke centers. Compared with front-door, Transfer-In
patients were younger, more often white, had higher median National
Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores, less often hypertension and
previous stroke/transient ischemic attack, and higher in-hospital
mortality (7.9% versus 4.9%; standardized difference, 12.4%). After
multivariable adjustment, Transfer-In patients had higher in-hospital
mortality and discharge modified Rankin scale.
Conclusions
There
is significant regional variability in the transfer of patients with
AIS. Because Transfer-In patients seem to have worse short-term
outcomes, these patients have the potential to negatively influence
institutional mortality rates and should be accounted for explicitly in
hospital risk-profiling measures.
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