Abstract TP154: Impact Of Non-English Primary Language On Mechanical Thrombectomy Outcomes

Abstract

Background: Delays in acute treatment of ischemic stroke have been associated with worse outcomes. Ischemic stroke patients with non-English primary language have not been shown to have delay in receiving thrombolytic therapy. We assessed whether non-English primary language was associated with functional outcomes in patients receiving mechanical thrombectomy (MT). Method: This is a retrospective study of our MT database from two comprehensive stroke centers from January 2016 to May 2021. Primary endpoints were discharge and 90-day modified Rankin Scale (mRS) 0-2. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the demographic and clinical characteristics, means and standard deviation or median and the 25th and 75th percentiles for continuous variables and frequency and percentages for categorical variables. Differences between primary English speaking (ES) and primary non-English speaking (nES) patients were evaluated using an analysis of variance (ANOVA), Kruskal-Wallis and chi square test. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate ES vs nES patients adjusted for age, hemoglobin A1c, tPA treatment, and TICI 2B/3 reperfusion which were selected a priori. The significance level was set at 0.05. Result: We identified 276 patients receiving MT with 83% ES and 17% nES patients. nES patients had higher mean hemoglobin A1c, were less likely to have insurance, and more likely to have symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage compared to ES patients (Table). No differences were observed in discharge or 90-day mRS in the univariate and multivariable logistic regression. We observed a nominally longer median ED arrival to groin puncture time in the nES group. Conclusion: There was no difference between nES and ES in good functional outcome rates in patients treated with MT. The trend toward longer ED length of stay in non-English language patients warrants additional study to identify specific causes of delay that may be targeted for intervention.