[Baseline predictors of outcome in stroke patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis--the Austrian stroke unit registry].

BACKGROUND

Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) for acute ischaemic stroke is safe and effective in routine clinical use. We aimed to identify baseline predictors of excellent outcome after 3 months, defined by a modified Rankin Scale score<or=1.

METHOD

We analysed data entered in the Austrian Stroke Unit Registry up to February 28th 2007.

RESULTS

Eight hundred and twelve patients received IVT after admission to a stroke unit within 3 hours of stroke onset. Of 386 patients with complete follow-up at 3 months, 201 (52.1%) had an excellent outcome. Multivariate regression analyses identified age (odds ratio (OR) 0.96; 95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.94-0.98; p<0.0005) and admission score on the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS; OR 0.87; 95% CI 0.84-0.91; p<0.0005) to be independent predictors of excellent outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

Age and admission NIHSS score were found to powerfully predict outcome after IVT. However, results may be compromised by the loss to follow-up bias.