Objective: To explore the association between hospital admission after acute stroke and delaying factors, and try to determine the factors that delay hospital admission and treatment, in order to find good solution.
Methods: We studied 300 patients with acute stroke from Sep. 2002 to Mar. 2003 in our emergency department and used chi 2 test and logistic model to analyze the collected data.
Results: The stroke subtypes were confirmed by CT or MRI scan in all the patients, including 210 cases of cerebral infarction, 80 cases of cerebral hemorrhage, and 10 cases of subarachnoid hemorrhage. The most important factor associated with a delay in reaching the hospital was the pattern of arriving hospital. Other factors associated with a delay were the referred hospital, stroke subtype and distance from the hospital.
Conclusion: The majority of patients who are candidates for acute stroke arrive at the hospital after prolonged delays for multiple reasons. The main reason for hospital admission delay is that they do not pay enough attention. Public and medical personnel education could result in significant reduction of these delays.