Abstract
Background and purpose: Few acute ischemic stroke patients are treated with rt-PA. This is partly because of prehospital delays after symptom onset. We examined the factors related to such delays and investigated the limit area of rt-PA treatment in the central part of Saga Prefecture.
Methods: The subjects comprised 53 consecutive acute cerebral infarction patients (rt-PA treated group, 19 cases; non-treated group, 34 cases) admitted to our hospitals between December 2005 and February 2007. Their time from symptom onset to arrival was known, and they were transported directly to our hospitals by ambulance. Data for the distance components from the patients' location to our hospital and time components were obtained from clinical records. In the two groups, the limit area of rt-PA treatment was calculated according to the following components: time from onset to hospital arrival (<120 min) and average speed of ambulance (=0.32 km/min).
Results: In the rt-PA treated group, the time of telephone contact from onset to receipt of the emergency medical service was significantly shorter. The limit area of rt-PA treatment was within 38 km from our hospitals.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that both enlightenment of the citizen and the construction of a stroke medical network are important in order to increase the number of ischemic stroke patients who receive rt-PA therapy.
