Utilization of emergency medical service increases chance of thrombolytic therapy in patients with acute ischemic stroke

Background/Purpose: To determine whether utilization of emergency medical service (EMS) can increase use and expedite delivery of the thrombolytic therapy in acute ischemic stroke patients. Methods: We analyzed consecutive patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with an ischemic stroke within 72 hours of symptom onset from a prospective stroke registry. Variables associated with early ED arrival (within 3hours of stroke onset) and administration of intravenous thrombolytic therapy were analyzed. Results: From January 1, 2010 to July 31, 2011, there were 1081 patients (62.3% men, age 69.6±13 years) included in this study. Among them, 289 (26.7%) arrived in the ED within 3 hours, and 88 (8.1%) received thrombolytic therapy. Patients who arrived at the ED by EMS (. n=279, 25.8%) were independently associated with earlier ED arrival (adjusted odds ratio=3.68, 95% confidence interval=2.54-5.33), and higher chance of receiving thrombolytic therapy (adjusted odds ratio=3.89, 95% confidence interval=1.86-8.17). Furthermore, utilization of EMS significantly decreased onset-to-needle time by 26 minutes in patients receiving thrombolytic therapy. Conclusion: Utilization of EMS can not only help acute ischemic stroke patients in early presentation to ED, but also effectively facilitate thrombolytic therapy and shorten the onset-to-needle time.