Author:
Kanda Masato,Sato Takanori,Yoshida Yoichi,Kuwabara Hiroyo,Kobayashi Yoshio,Inoue Takahiro
Abstract
Abstract
Background/objective
Few reports have directly compared the outcomes of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) who are managed in a stroke care unit (SCU) with those who are managed in an intensive care units (ICU). This large database study in Japan aimed to compare in-hospital mortality between patients with AIS admitted into SCU and those admitted into ICU.
Methods
Patients with AIS who were admitted between April 1, 2014, and March 31, 2019, were selected from the administrative database and divided into the SCU and ICU groups. We calculated the propensity score to match groups for which the admission unit assignment was independent of confounding factors, including the modified Rankin scale (mRS) score. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality, and secondary outcomes were the mRS score at discharge, length of stay (LOS), and total hospitalization cost.
Results
Overall, 8,683 patients were included, and 960 pairs were matched. After matching, the in-hospital mortality rates of the SCU and ICU groups were not significantly different (5.9% vs. 7.9%, P = 0.106). LOS was significantly shorter (SCU = 20.9 vs. ICU = 26.2 days, P < 0.001) and expenses were significantly lower in the SCU group than in the ICU group (SCU = 1,686,588 vs. ICU = 1,998,260 yen, P < 0.001). mRS scores (score of 1–3 or 4–6) at discharge were not significantly different after matching. Stratified analysis showed that the in-hospital mortality rate was lower in the ICU group than in the SCU group among patients who underwent thrombectomy.
Conclusions
In-hospital mortality was not significantly different between the ICU and SCU groups, with significantly lower costs and shorter LOS in the SCU group than in the ICU group.
Funder
JSPS KAKENHI
the Institute for Health Economics and Policy
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
Neurology (clinical),General Medicine