Türk Nöroloji Dergisi (Dec 2017)

Intravenous Thrombolytic Therapy in Acute Ischemic Stroke: The Experience of Kütahya

  • Mustafa Çetiner,
  • Sibel Canbaz Kabay,
  • Hasan Emre Aydın

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4274/tnd.35651
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 23, no. 4
pp. 193 – 198

Abstract

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Objective: Stroke is a serious cause of mortality and disability. The caregiver of the patients may be adversely affected by this situation as well. In addition, stroke has a great economic burden on healthcare. Significant improvement has been achieved in the field of diagnosis, treatment, and care in the acute phase of the ischemic stroke in recent years. Thrombolysis with intravenous (IV) recombinant tissue type plasminogen activator (r-tPA) is the main treatment option in selected patients. The aim of our study was to share the results of intravenous (IV) thrombolytic therapy applied to patients with acute ischemic stroke in our clinic. Materials and Methods: We evaluated the clinical data of 52 patients who were admitted to our clinic with ischemic stroke within the first 4.5 hours after onset of stroke symptoms, and were treated with IV thrombolytic therapy, between the May 2014 and June 2016. Demographic characteristics and clinical data were recorded. Results: Twenty-three of the patients were male and 29 were female. The mean age was 70.7±12.8 years (range, 41-92 years). Intracranial hemorrhage after treatment was observed in 8 patients (15.4%). Of these, 6 patients (11.5%) had asymptomatic hemorrhage, 2 patients (3.8%) had symptomatic hemorrhage. The mean score of modified Rankin Scale (mRS) was 0-1 in 16 (30.8%) patients, 2-3 in 10 (19.2%) patients, and 4-5 in 13 (25%) patients. The mean mRS score of 7 (20%) patients with total anterior circulation infarct was 0-1. The mean mRS score of 8 (57.1%) patients with partial anterior circulation infarct was 0-1. Thirteen (25%) patients died within 3 months of the treatment. Conclusion: Intravenous thrombolytic therapy is an effective and safe treatment that is easy to administer within 4.5 hours in patients with acute ischemic stroke. This treatment increases the number of ambulatory patients and reduces disability in selected patients

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