Abstract
Background and purpose: Intravenous alteplase (rt-PA) therapy has been widely approved for acute ischemic stroke. We examined symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (SICH) and outcomes in older patients treated with rt-PA therapy.
Methods: We divided 130 consecutive patients treated with rt-PA into two groups: 72 patients younger than 80 years (age < 80 group) and 58 patients older than 80 years (age ≥ 80 group).
Results: On CT and MRI scans, SICH was observed in 5 patients (7.1%) in the age < 80 group and 4 patients (6.9%) in the age ≥ 80 group. The SICH rate did not differ significantly between the two groups (OR 1.21, 95% CI 0.04–2.39, P=0.6174). The patients in the age ≥ 80 group had a significantly lower mRS 0–1 rate (8.8 vs. 30.0%; OR 7.20, 95% CI 6.05–8.34, P=0.0009) and significantly higher mRS 6 (mortality) rate (19.3 vs. 9.0%; OR 6.52, 95% CI 5.39–7.65, P=0.0015) compared with those in the age < 80 group.
Conclusions: These data suggest that the factor of age is not related to SICH but is related to patients’ outcomes in rt-PA therapy.
