Abstract
Background
Acute stroke is a common neurological disorder. Intravenous recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA) treatment is recommended for treatment of patients with acute ischemic stroke. A major side effect of rt-PA is intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Studies of the risks for ICH after rt-PA treatment in Asian populations are limited.
Objective
To determine risk factors for intracerebral hemorrhage after treatment of acute ischemic stroke with rt-PA and create online tool to calculate the risk.
Methods
We reviewed all patients with acute ischemic stroke who received treatment with rt-PA within 4.5 hours of stroke onset at the stroke fast track unit, Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen University, Thailand. The study period was between November 2008 and September 2011. Factors associated with ICH after rt-PA treatment were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression.
Results
There were 162 patients with acute ischemic stroke who received rt-PA treatment within 4.5 hours. Of those, 12 patients (7.41%) developed ICH. Only baseline modified Rankin scale score was significantly associated with ICH. The adjusted odds ratio was 1.733 (95% CI 1.008 to 2.982). An online tool to calculate the risk is available at http://202.28.94.20/research/.
Conclusions
Intracerebral hemorrhage after rt-PA treatment of patients with acute stroke was low at 7.41% and related to baseline functional status.