Outcome of Treatment with Intravenous Alteplase in Acute Stroke Patients

Abstract

Background and Objective: Stroke is one of the main causes of death and disability in the world, and its treatment includes the re-supply of blood to the brain tissue using different methods, including alteplase injection. The aim of this study is to determine the outcome of treatment with intravenous alteplase. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on all stroke patients referred to Babol Rouhani Hospital in 2019-2021. Patients were divided into two groups receiving intravenous alteplase and routine and supportive treatment groups. Demographic information and the scores of National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) to evaluate the improvement of stroke symptoms and Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) to evaluate the severity of disability in three periods of 7, 30 and 90 days were investigated and compared. Findings: Out of 100 studied patients, 49 people were in alteplase group and 51 people were in routine and supportive treatment group. In examining the NIHSS scale of patients in three follow-up periods, there was a significant difference in the alteplase group compared to the routine and supportive treatment group (p<0.001). Moreover, regarding the mRS scale, on the 90th day (0.65±0.80 vs. 1.55±1.11) unlike the 30th day (1.65±1.07 vs. 1.31±0.92), there was a significant difference between the two groups receiving alteplase and the routine and supportive treatment group (p<0.001). Conclusion: The results of the study showed that treatment with intravenous alteplase can have a suitable effect on neurological disorders after a stroke and can improve the level of disability in daily functioning in the long term, up to the 90th day of patient follow-up.

Keywords

• stroke
• tissue plasminogen activator
• alteplase
• disability assessment
• national institutes of health (nih).