Hospital Admissions For Ischemic Stroke Research Articles

Patient Readmission for Ischemic Stroke: Risk Factors and Impact on Mortality.

Patient readmission for ischemic stroke significantly strains the healthcare and medical insurance systems. Current understanding of the risk factors associated with these readmissions, as well as their subsequent impact on mortality within China, remains insufficient. This is particularly evident in the context of comprehensive, contemporary population studies. This 4-year retrospective cohort study included 125 397 hospital admissions for ischemic stroke from 838 hospitals located in 22 regions (13 urban and 9 rural) of a major city in western China, between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2018. The Chi-square tests were used in univariate analysis. Accounting for intra-subject correlations of patients' readmissions, accelerated failure time (AFT) shared frailty models were used to examine readmission events and pure AFT models for mortality. Risk factors for patient readmission after ischemic stroke include frequent admission history, male gender, employee's insurance, advanced age, residence in urban areas, index hospitalization in low-level hospitals, extended length of stay (LOS) during index hospitalization, specific comorbidities and subtypes of ischemic stroke. Furthermore, our findings indicated that an additional admission for ischemic stroke increased patient mortality by 16.4% (P < .001). Stroke readmission contributed to an increased risk of hospital mortality. Policymakers can establish more effective and targeted policies to reduce readmissions for stroke by controlling these risk factors.

Efficacy and safety of apixaban compared to warfarin for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation in end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis

BackgroundThis study compared the efficacy and safety of apixaban and warfarin in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on hemodialysis (HD). Apixaban decreased incidence of stroke and bleeding compared with warfarin in major clinical trials that excluded patients with severe renal dysfunction. Apixaban is no longer contraindicated in patients with ESRD on HD with NVAF based on pharmacokinetic studies. Limited clinical data exist for patients with ESRD on HD on apixaban. MethodsA retrospective chart review was performed on patients with a diagnosis of NVAF and ESRD on HD who were prescribed apixaban or warfarin for stroke prevention in the years 2018 through 2019. Patients’ charts were reviewed for up to a 2-year period. Patients on renal replacement therapy other than HD, those using anticoagulation for reasons other than NVAF, patients with Child-Pugh Class C cirrhosis, and those with severe mitral valve stenosis were excluded. The primary outcome was emergency department visits or hospital admissions for ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack. Secondary outcomes included major or minor bleeding and adverse effects. ResultsA total of 181 patients were screened; 110 patients met eligibility criteria and were included in the analysis. Four patients (7.5%) in the apixaban group and 6 patients (10.5%) in the warfarin group met the primary outcome of hospitalization or emergency department visit for stroke (P = 0.742). Symptomatic bleeding occurred in 39.6% of patients in the apixaban group and 36.8% in the warfarin group (P = 0.918). A trend in major bleeding occurred more often in the warfarin group, 52.4% versus 49.2% (P = 0.758). ConclusionsThere were no statistically significant differences in efficacy and safety outcomes between apixaban and warfarin in patients with NVAF and ESRD on HD in the intention-to-treat analysis of our study. Larger trials are needed to further analyze this patient population.

Effect of abnormal values of three temperature indicators on ischemic stroke hospital admissions in Guangzhou, China

Abnormal temperature has important effects on the occurrence of ischemic stroke (IS). However, relatively less efforts have been taken to systematically unravel the association between various abnormal temperature and IS hospital admission. Focusing on three temperature indicators (i.e., mean temperature, maximum temperature, and minimum temperature), this study attempts to analyse how their abnormal values affect IS hospital admission. The dataset covers the period between September 17, 2012 and August 28, 2018, and includes a total of 1464 cases who were admitted to the hospital for the first onset of IS and lived in the main urban area of Guangzhou. The study adopts the time-stratified case-crossover analysis. Abnormal values of temperature were measured using the 2.5th and 97.5th quantile values of each temperature indicator, with the former refers to a low value whereas the latter a high one. The effects of abnormal temperature on IS hospital admission were assessed through calculating the relative risks induced by the low and high values (the median values of each temperature indicators were taken as the references). The results show that the risk window periods for IS hospital admission associated with the low values of the temperature indicators are the lags of 3–7 days and 18–19 days. The risks of high temperature values on IS admission, however, are insignificant with either one-day lag or cumulative lag. As to different population groups, females show higher risks of IS hospital admission at low temperature values than males; and elderly people, compared with young people, are more vulnerable to low temperature values. To cities with similar climate of Guangzhou, particular attention should be paid to the impact of low temperature values, especially the low value of minimum temperature, on IS admission, and to females and elderly people who are more sensitive to abnormal temperatures.

Risk of Midlife Stroke After Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes: The FinnGen Study.

Adverse pregnancy outcomes (APO) contribute to higher risk of maternal cerebrovascular disease, but longitudinal data that include APO and stroke timing are lacking. We hypothesized that APO are associated with younger age at first stroke, with a stronger relationship in those with >1 pregnancy with APO. We analyzed longitudinal Finnish nationwide health registry data from the FinnGen Study. We included women who gave birth after 1969 when the hospital discharge registry was established. We defined APO as a pregnancy affected by gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, eclampsia, preterm birth, small for gestational age infant, or placental abruption. We defined stroke as first hospital admission for ischemic stroke or nontraumatic intracerebral or subarachnoid hemorrhage, excluding stroke during pregnancy or within 1 year postpartum. We used Kaplan-Meier survival curves and multivariable-adjusted Cox and generalized linear models to assess the relationship between APO and future stroke. We included 144 306 women with a total of 316 789 births in the analysis sample, of whom 17.9% had at least 1 pregnancy with an APO and 2.9% experienced an APO in ≥2 pregnancies. Women with APO had more comorbidities including obesity, hypertension, heart disease, and migraine. Median age at first stroke was 58.3 years in those with no APO, 54.8 years in those with 1 APO, and 51.6 years in those with recurrent APO. In models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics and stroke risk factors, risk of stroke was greater in women with 1 APO (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.3 [95% CI, 1.2-1.4]) and recurrent APO (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.4 [95% CI, 1.2-1.7]) compared with those with no APO. Women with recurrent APO had more than twice the stroke risk before age 45 (adjusted odds ratio, 2.1 [95% CI, 1.5-3.1]) compared with those without APO. Women who experience APO have earlier onset of cerebrovascular disease, with the earliest onset in those with more than 1 affected pregnancy.

Short-term associations of ambient air pollution with hospital admissions for ischemic stroke in 97 Japanese cities

The short-term association between ambient air pollution and hospital admissions for ischemic stroke is not fully understood. We examined the association between four regularly measured major ambient air pollutants, i.e., sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), photochemical oxidants (Ox), and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters ≤ 2.5μm (PM2.5), and hospital admissions for ischemic stroke by analyzing 3years of nationwide claims data from 97 cities in Japan. We first estimated city-specific results by using generalized additive models with a quasi-Poisson regression, and we obtained the national average by combining city-specific results with the use of random-effect models. We identified a total of 335,248 hospital admissions for ischemic stroke during the 3-year period. Our analysis results demonstrated that interquartile range increases in the following four ambient air pollutants were significantly associated with hospital admissions for ischemic stroke on the same day: SO2 (1.05ppb), 1.05% (95% CI: 0.59-1.50%); NO2 (6.40ppb), 1.10% (95% CI: 0.61-1.59%); Ox (18.32ppb), 1.43% (95% CI: 0.81-2.06%); and PM2.5 (7.86μg/m3), 0.90% (95% CI: 0.35-1.45%). When the data were stratified by the hospital admittees' medication use, we observed stronger associations with SO2,NO2, and PM2.5 among the patients who were taking antihypertensive drugs and weaker associations with SO2, NO2, and Ox among those taking antiplatelet drugs. Short-term exposure to ambient air pollution was associated with increased hospital admissions for ischemic stroke, and medication use and season may modify the association.

Associations between ambient air pollution, meteorology, and daily hospital admissions for ischemic stroke: a time-stratified case-crossover study in Beijing.

Air pollution and ischemic stroke (IS) are both vital factors affecting the health of Beijing citizens. This study aims at exploring the associations between air pollution, meteorology, and the hospital admission of IS (IS HA). Information on 476,659 IS inpatients in secondary and higher hospitals in Beijing from 2013 to 2018 were collected. A time-stratified case-crossover design with the generalized additive model and the distributed lag nonlinear model were used. In the single-pollutant models, an inter-quartile range increase in O3, SO2, CO, and NO2 resulted in a significant highest increase in IS HA by 2.23% (95% CI: 1.56%, 2.90%), 1.53% (95% CI: 1.12%, 1.95%), 1.05% (95% CI: 0.70%, 1.40%), and 0.51% (95% CI: 0.24%, 0.79%) on the day of pollution, so did PM2.5 and PM10 by 1.13% (95% CI: 0.68%, 1.59%) and 1.19% (95% CI: 0.74%, 1.64%) at a lag of 0-5days. There was a nonlinear relationship between meteorology and IS HA. In the multivariate model, the cumulative relative risks with a maximum lag time of 21days of PM2.5 and NO2 were 1.11 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.19) and 0.88 (95% CI: 0.82, 0.94), while the effects of SO2, O3, and meteorology were insignificant. The findings suggested that particulate pollutants could increase the risk of IS, and the elderly were more sensitive to it, while the results of gaseous pollutants are still discordant. The control of air pollution and the protection of susceptible populations should receive higher attention from policymakers.

Acute effect of air pollutants' peak-hour concentrations on ischemic stroke hospital admissions among hypertension patients in Beijing, China, from 2014 to 2018.

Air pollutants' effect on ischemic stroke (IS) has been widely reported. But the effect of high-level concentrations during people's outdoor periods among hypertension patients was unknown. Peak-hour concentrations were defined considering air pollutants' high concentrations as well as people's outdoor periods. We conducted a time-series study and used the generalized additive model to analyze peak-hour concentrations' acute effect. A total of 315,499 IS patients comorbid with hypertension were admitted to secondary and above hospitals in Beijing from 2014 to 2018. A 10µg/m3 (CO: 1mg/m3) increase of the peak-hour concentrations was positively associated with IS hospital admissions among hypertension patients. The maximum effect sizes were as follows: for PM2.5, 0.17% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.10-0.24%) at Lag0 and 0.22% (95% CI: 0.12-0.33%) at Lag0-5; for PM10, 0.09% (95% CI: 0.05-0.13%) at Lag5 and 0.17% (95% CI: 0.09-0.26%) at Lag0-5; for SO2, 0.87% (95% CI: 0.46-1.29%) at Lag5; for NO2, 0.83% (95% CI: 0.62-1.04%) at Lag0 and 0.86% (95% CI: 0.59-1.13%) at Lag0-1; for CO 1.23% (95% CI: 0.66-1.80%) at Lag0 and 1.33% (95% CI: 0.33-2.35%) at Lag0-5; for O3 0.23% (95% CI: 0.12-0.35%) at Lag0 and 0.20% (95% CI: 0.05-0.34%) at Lag0-1. The effect sizes of PM2.5, NO2, and O3 remained significant after adjusting daily mean. Larger effect sizes were observed for PM2.5 and PM10 in cool season and for O3 in warm season. As significant exposure indicators of air pollution, peak-hour concentrations exposure increased the risk of IS hospital admissions among hypertension patients and it is worthy of consideration in relative environmental standard. It is suggested for hypertension patients to avoid outdoor activity during peak hours. More relevant searches are required to further illustrate air pollutant's effect on chronic disease population.

Absolute risk of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke in Danish women using oral contraceptives.

Uncertainty exists for the absolute risk of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke in users of oral contraceptives (OCs). Estimates greatly vary between countries. In Denmark, absolute risk of ischemic stroke (IS) is estimated to be 21 per 100,000 person-years. Risk of cerebral hemorrhage (CH) is unknown. Using the Danish Stroke Registry, we investigated absolute risk of IS and CH in users of OC. For the Danish female population aged 15-49years during 2003-2011, we obtained information on hospital admission for IS and CH and current use of OC from Danish nationwide registries. We defined current use of OC as redeeming at least two OC prescriptions within the previous year. The Danish female population years 2003-2011 consisted mean of 1,246,142 women per year. Of these, 29.6% were OC users. In the study period, OC users had 291 IS and 14 CH. Absolute risk of IS in OC users was 8.8 per 100,000 person-years and of CH it was 0.4 per 100,000 person-years. In OC users, absolute risk of IS was 8.8 per 100,000 person-years. This is more than half that of the risk previously assumed in Denmark. Risk of CH in OC users was very low and 0.4 per 100,000 person-years.

Hospitalization for ischemic stroke was affected more in independent cases than in dependent cases during the COVID-19 pandemic: An interrupted time series analysis.

BackgroundThe pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected health care systems globally. The aim of our study is to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of hospital admissions for ischemic stroke by severity in Japan.MethodsWe analysed administrative (Diagnosis Procedure Combination—DPC) data for cases of inpatients aged 18 years and older who were diagnosed with ischemic stroke and admitted during the period April 1 2018 to June 27 2020. Levels of change of the weekly number of inpatient cases with ischemic stroke diagnosis after the declaration of state of emergency were assessed using interrupted time-series (ITS) analysis. The numbers of patients with various characteristics and treatment approaches were compared. We also performed an ITS analysis for each group (“independent” or “dependent”) divided based on components of activities of daily living (ADL) and level of consciousness at hospital admission.ResultsA total of 170,294 cases in 567 hospitals were included. The ITS analysis showed a significant decrease in the weekly number of ischemic stroke cases hospitalized (estimated decrease: −156 cases; 95% confidence interval (CI): −209 to −104), which corresponds to −10.4% (95% CI: −13.6 to −7.1). The proportion of decline in the independent group (−21.3%; 95% CI: −26.0 to −16.2) was larger than that in the dependent group (−8.6%; 95% CI: −11.7 to −5.4).ConclusionsOur results show a marked reduction in hospital admissions due to ischemic stroke after the declaration of the state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic. The independent cases were affected more in proportion than dependent cases.

The association between ozone and ischemic stroke morbidity among patients with type 2 diabetes in Beijing, China

BackgroundThe association between ozone and ischemic stroke has been widely reported; however, the association among patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) has remained largely unknown. MethodsThe time series data of daily morbidity and concentrations of ozone from 2014 to 2018 were collected in Beijing, China. A time-stratified case-crossover study combined with a distributed lag nonlinear model was used to estimate the ozone effect on stroke morbidity among T2D patients. Based on principal diagnosis, ischemic stroke cases were identified according to the International Classification of Diseases (I63), and a history of T2D was coded as E12. ResultsA total of 149,757 hospital admissions for ischemic stroke among T2D patients were recorded in Beijing. Approximately U-shaped exposure-response curves were observed for ozone and ischemic stroke morbidity among T2D patients. With a reference at 54.91 μg/m3, extreme-low (5th: 9.59 μg/m3) ozone was significantly associated with a decreased risk for ischemic stroke [RR = 0.88, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.80–0.98]. Subgroup analysis showed that extremely low-ozone (5th) level only had a significant protective effect in males and elderly population, with a RR value of 0.86 (95% CI: 0.76–0.97) and 0.85 (95% CI: 0.75–0.96), respectively. Extreme-high ozone (99th: 157.06 μg/m3) was significantly associated with an increased risk for ischemic stroke (RR = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.12–1.57). The effect size was 1.34 (95% CI: 1.10–1.63) for males and 1.32 (95% CI: 1.07–1.63) for females, and the difference was not significant (Z = -0.29, P = 0.77). The effect size in younger adults was significantly higher than that in participants aged ≥65 years [1.52 (95% CI: 1.21–1.91) vs. 1.22 (95% CI: 1.01–1.47), Z = -1.62, P < 0.05]. ConclusionsU-shaped associations were observed between ozone and ischemic stroke morbidity in T2D patients. Men and elderly population are vulnerable to low-ozone level, and the younger adults are more susceptible to extremely high-ozone level than the elderly.

Association between Air Pollutants and Initial Hospital Admission for Ischemic Stroke in Korea from 2002 to 2013

ObjectivesThere is limited information regarding the association between air pollution exposure and stroke incidence. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the associations between short-term exposure to ambient air pollutants and initial hospital admission for ischemic stroke. Materials and MethodsFrom the Korea National Health Insurance Service–National Sample Cohort 2002–2013 database in South Korea, 55,852 first hospital admissions for ischemic stroke were identified. A generalized additive Poisson model was used to explore the association between air pollutants, including particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide and admissions for ischemic stroke. ResultsAll air pollutant models showed significant associations with ischemic stroke in the single lag model. In all air pollutant models excluding particulate matter 10 μm, a significant association was found between nitrogen dioxide exposure and initial admission for ischemic stroke after adjusting for other pollutants. An increment of 10 μg/m3 in nitrogen dioxide concentration at lag 0 and 14 days corresponded to a 0.259% (95% confidence interval, 0.231–0.287%) and 0.110% (95% confidence interval, 0.097–0.124) increase in initial admission for ischemic stroke, respectively. ConclusionsThe exposure-response relationship between nitrogen dioxide and initial admissions for ischemic stroke was approximately linear, with a sharper response at higher concentrations. Short-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide was positively associated with initial hospital admission for ischemic stroke.

The influence of statin withdrawal and adherence on stroke outcomes.

With multiple proven benefits, statin therapy has become the most critical advance in stroke prevention. We aimed to evaluate the risk factors and the effect of poor adherence or statin interruption on the clinical outcomes of ischemic stroke. This prospective cohort study included patients admitted with acute ischemic stroke between 2014 and 2018. Consecutive patients were distinguished into subgroups according to the adherence and withdrawal of statin. All participants were followed for 24months. The outcomes included stroke recurrence, major cardiovascular events, all-cause mortality, and functional performance. Functional outcome was assessed using the modified Rankin Scale at 7days, 30days, 6months, and 2years after hospital admission for ischemic stroke. In a secondary analysis, outcome variables were compared with statin-naïve patients. We included 479 patients with acute ischemic stroke. The mean age was 58.3, and 55.0% were male. There were 96 (21.8%) patients who received no statin, 150 (34.9%) patients with poor adherence, 40 (9.1%) patients with intermediate adherence, and 154 (35.0%) patients with good adherence. There were 54 (15.7%) cases of withdrawal of treatment. Patients with hypertension, previous stroke, and large-artery atherosclerosis were associated with poor adherence (p< 0.05). Those with poor adherence were significantly associated with worse functional outcomes and a higher incidence of stroke recurrence (p< 0.05). Significant functional recovery was just seen in patients with satisfactory adherence. The suboptimal use of statins is associated with significantly worse clinical outcomes in stroke patients.

Association between extreme precipitation and ischemic stroke in Hefei, China: Hospitalization risk and disease burden

BackgroundIschemic stroke is an acute cardiovascular disease with high disability and mortality. Extreme precipitation has been reported to increase the risk of some cardiovascular diseases and further increase the burden of disease. At present, no studies have evaluated the relationship between extreme precipitation and ischemic stroke. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to quantitatively analyze the association between extreme precipitation and ischemic stroke hospitalizations and further explore disease burden and its associated susceptible population. MethodsIn this study, we used Poisson generalized linear model combined with distributed lag nonlinear model to investigate the relationship between extreme precipitation (≥95th percentile) and ischemic stroke and further explored the lag effect of extreme precipitation for population with different individual characteristics. ResultsIschemic stroke hospitalizations were significantly associated with extreme precipitation. The single-day effect occurred on lag 3 (RR = 1.040, 95% CI: 1.058–1.073) lasted until lag 8 (RR = 1.036, 95% CI: 1.004–1.068). The cumulative lag effects of extreme precipitation on ischemic stroke lasted six days (lag 6–lag 11). Male and people aged ≥65 years were more sensitive to extreme precipitation. The attributable fraction (AF) and numbers (AN) of extreme precipitation on hospitalizations for ischemic stroke were 1.38% and 236.4, respectively. ConclusionOur study suggested that extreme precipitation may increase the risk of hospital admissions for ischemic stroke, emphasizing the need for society and families to pay more attention to male and people aged ≥65 years.

Short-term effect of PM1 on hospital admission for ischemic stroke: A multi-city case-crossover study in China

This study aims to examine the association between short-term exposures to PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters ≤1 μm, ≤2.5 μm and ≤10 μm, respectively) and hospital admission for ischemic stroke in China. Daily counts of hospital admission for ischemic stroke were collected in 5 hospitals in China during November 2013 to October 2015. Daily concentrations of PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 were collected in 5 cities where the hospitals were located. A time-stratified case-crossover design was used to examine the hospital-specific PM-ischemic stroke association after controlling for potential confounders. Then the effect estimates were pooled using a random-effect meta-analysis. A total of 68,122 hospital admissions for ischemic stroke were identified from 5 hospitals during the study period. The pooled results showed that exposures to PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 were significantly associated with increased hospital admission for ischemic stroke on the current day and previous 1 day. The RRs (relative risk associated with per 10 μg/m3 increase in each pollutant) and 95%CIs (confidence intervals) for the cumulative effects of PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 on ischemic stroke during lag 0–1 days were 1.014 (1.005, 1.0023), 1.007 (1.000, 1.014) and 1.005 (1.001, 1.009), respectively. In total, 3.5%, 3.6% and 4.1% of hospital admissions for ischemic stroke could be attributable to PM1, PM2.5 and PM10, respectively. Exposures to ambient PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 pollution showed acute adverse effects on hospital admission for ischemic stroke. The health effects of PM1 should be considered by policy-makers.

Ambient Coarse Particulate Matter and Hospital Admissions for Ischemic Stroke.

Background and Purpose- Evidence on the effects of coarse particulate matter (PM10-2.5) on ischemic stroke is limited and inconsistent. We evaluated the acute effects of PM10-2.5 exposure on hospital admissions for ischemic stroke in China. Methods- We conducted a national time-series analysis of associations between daily PM10-2.5 concentrations and daily hospital admissions for ischemic stroke in China between January 2014 and December 2016. Hospital admissions for ischemic stroke were identified from the database of Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance, which contains data from 0.28 billion beneficiaries. We applied a city-specific Poisson regression to examine the associations of PM10-2.5 and daily ischemic stroke admissions. We combined the city-specific effect estimates with a random effects meta-analysis, and further evaluated the exposure-response relationship curve and potential effect modifiers. Results- We identified >2 million hospital admissions for ischemic stroke in 172 Chinese cities. A 10 μg/m3 increase in PM10-2.5 concentrations (lag day 0) was associated with a 0.91% (95% CI, 0.73-1.10) increase in hospital admissions for ischemic stroke. The association remained significant after adjusting for PM2.5 (percentage change, 0.96%; 95% CI, 0.75-1.18). The exposure-response relationship was approximately linear, with a moderate response at lower levels (<200 μg/m3) and a steeper response at higher levels. The association was stronger in cities with lower PM10-2.5 concentrations, higher temperatures, or higher relative humidity. Conclusions- This nationwide study provides robust evidence of the short-term association between exposure to PM10-2.5 and increased hospital admissions for ischemic stroke and supports the hypothesis that the association differs by city characteristics.

Abstract TP192: Trends in Hospital Admissions for Stroke Among Patients With Sickle Cell Disease

Introduction: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a major risk factor for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. Approximately 10% of children with SCD will have a stroke, a rate that increases to nearly 25% by age 45. In adults with SCD, stroke management guidelines are limited and recent national trends in hospital admission and mortality are not known. We sought to describe the recent trends in national hospital admissions for ischemic stroke, associated mortality and other socio-demographic traits, among adult patients with SCD. Methods: The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) is a healthcare database that approximates a 20 percent stratified sample of all hospital discharges in the US. We queried the NIS from 2006-2014 using ICD-9 codes for a primary diagnosis of ischemic stroke and any secondary diagnosis of SCD. Our primary outcomes were hospital admission rates and mortality. We stratified admissions by presence of SCD and accounted for race (AA, Hispanic, NHW and other), sex, age, hospital characteristics, US region, household income, insurance type, disease severity and other factors using multivariable logistic regression. Results: We found a total of 1,052,442 observations for ischemic stroke from 2006-2014, of which 743 had a secondary diagnosis of SCD. Ischemic stroke and SCD accounted for 0.32% of all hospitalization in blacks, compared to 0.04 in whites and Hispanics each. Patients with both diagnoses were also much more likely to be younger, accounting for 0.57% of all admission in those 18-44 compared to only 0.02% in those older than 65. In the adjusted model, stroke admission rates among patients with SCD steadily declined from 2006-2008 compared to 2012-2014 (OR 0.82, CI 0.789-0.86). There was no difference in hospital mortality for patients with SCD compared to those without it (OR 1.2, CI 0.84-1.6). Having medicaid was associated with increased in mortality (OR 1.43, CI 1.37-1.51) and so was income, with the first quartile in income having the highest mortality OR 1.03, CI 1.01-1.05). Conclusion: Hospital admissions for ischemic stroke in adults with SCD have declined from 2006 to 2014. SCD remains an under-recognized stroke risk factor in young AA. Insurance type and income were associated with increased mortality.

Association between ambient air pollution and daily hospital admissions for ischemic stroke: A nationwide time-series analysis.

BackgroundEvidence of the short-term effects of ambient air pollution on the risk of ischemic stroke in low- and middle-income countries is limited and inconsistent. We aimed to examine the associations between air pollution and daily hospital admissions for ischemic stroke in China.Methods and findingsWe identified hospital admissions for ischemic stroke in 2014–2016 from the national database covering up to 0.28 billion people who received Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) in China. We examined the associations between air pollution and daily ischemic stroke admission using a two-stage method. Poisson time-series regression models were firstly fitted to estimate the effects of air pollution in each city. Random-effects meta-analyses were then conducted to combine the estimates. Meta-regression models were applied to explore potential effect modifiers. More than 2 million hospital admissions for ischemic stroke were identified in 172 cities in China. In single-pollutant models, increases of 10 μg/m3 in particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <2.5 μm (PM2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3) and 1 mg/m3 in carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations were associated with 0.34% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.20%–0.48%), 1.37% (1.05%–1.70%), 1.82% (1.45%–2.19%), 0.01% (−0.14%–0.16%), and 3.24% (2.05%–4.43%) increases in hospital admissions for ischemic stroke on the same day, respectively. SO2 and NO2 associations remained significant in two-pollutant models, but not PM2.5 and CO associations. The effect estimates were greater in cities with lower air pollutant levels and higher air temperatures, as well as in elderly subgroups. The main limitation of the present study was the unavailability of data on individual exposure to ambient air pollution.ConclusionsAs the first national study in China to systematically examine the associations between short-term exposure to ambient air pollution and ischemic stroke, our findings indicate that transient increase in air pollution levels may increase the risk of ischemic stroke, which may have significant public health implications for the reduction of ischemic stroke burden in China.

A.06 Trends in hospital admission and in-hospital mortality for atrial fibrillation related stroke in Canada

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with increased risk of ischemic stroke. In Canada, the contemporary burden of AF-related stroke is incompletely characterized. Our objective was to determine temporal trends in hospital admissions and in-hospital mortality for AF-related stroke in Canada from 2007 to 2015. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using Canadian national administrative data to identify admissions to hospital for stroke with comorbid AF between 2007 and 2015. We analyzed temporal trends in age- and sex-standardized proportion of admissions with comorbid AF and associated in-hospital mortality. Results: There were 222,100 admissions to hospital for ischemic (182,990) or hemorrhagic (39,110) stroke. The age-sex adjusted proportion of ischemic stroke admissions with comorbid AF increased from 16.2% to 20.5% (p for trend = 0.02) between 2007 and 2015, and was stable among hemorrhagic stroke. In-hospital mortality for ischemic stroke with comorbid AF decreased from 21.6% to 15.0% (p for trend = 0.001). Conclusions: Rates of hospital admission for ischemic stroke with comorbid AF have increased, while associated in-hospital mortality has decreased. These results identify AF as an important continued focus for stroke prevention. Our findings provide insight into current trends and highlight the need for continued focus on AF-related stroke.

Acute Ischemic Stroke Hospital Admissions, Treatment, and Outcomes in Poland in 2009-2013.

Ischemic stroke (IS) still constitutes a serious problem for public health worldwide. The data on its burden in Poland before 2009 is limited and came only from a few metropolitan areas. To assess temporal trends in the hospital admissions, treatment, and outcomes of IS in Poland in 2009-2013, to identify risk factors for IS mortality and to compare the results with other countries. The data from the Polish Stroke Registry were analyzed. The data concerned all subjects hospitalized due to IS (classified according to the ICD10 classification as I63.0-I63.9) as primary diagnosis in Poland in 2009-2013. Temporal trends in treatment and outcome were analyzed. Hospital admissions rates as well as case fatality and 12-month mortality rates were calculated. Altogether, 360,556 patients (47.5% of males) were hospitalized due to IS in Poland in 2009-2013. The median of age was 75 years, IQR 18 (Women 78, IQR 14 vs. Men 70, IQR 17; p < 0.001). The hospital admissions age-standardized annual rate for IS in Poland in 2013 was 8% lower than in 2009 (169 vs. 157/100,000; p for trend < 0.001). In-hospital case fatality has slightly decreased (from 13.6% in 2009 to 12.9% in 2013; p for trend < 0.001). One-year posthospital mortality rate has not changed (19.3% in 2009 and 2013). The percentage of IS subjects treated with intravenous thrombolysis was low but increased from 1.7% in 2009 to 6.3% in 2013 (p for trend <0.001). Since 2009, Poland has had national epidemiological data on the hospital admissions, treatment, and outcomes in IS. The data indicate a slow improvement of in-hospital survival and suggest the need for better stroke prevention and further dissemination of reperfusion therapy.

Fine Particulate Air Pollution and First Hospital Admissions for Ischemic Stroke in Beijing, China

The primary objective of this study was to assess the association between short-term changes in ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and first hospital admissions for ischemic stroke. We identified 63,956 first hospital admissions for ischemic stroke from the Beijing Medical Claim Data for Employees from January 1, 2010, through June 30, 2012. A generalized additive Poisson model was applied to explore the association between PM2.5 and admissions for ischemic stroke. We also explore the effect modification of risk by age and gender. The exposure–response relationship between PM2.5 and admissions for ischemic stroke was approximately linear, with a relatively stable response at lower concentrations (<100 μg/m3) and a steeper response at higher concentrations. A 10 μg/m3 increase in the same-day PM2.5 concentration was associated with 0.31% (95% CI, 0.17–0.45%, P < 1.57 × 10−5) increase in the daily admissions for ischemic stroke. The association was also statistically significant at lag 1, 2, 3, 0–2 and 0–4 days. Subgroup analyses showed that the association was not different between patients ≥65 years and <65 years old or between males and females. In conclusion, short-term exposure to PM2.5 was positively associated with first hospital admissions for ischemic stroke in Beijing, China.