• Roland Faigle, Lisa A Cooper, and Rebecca F Gottesman.
• From the Departments of Neurology (R.F., R.F.G.) and Medicine (L.A.C.), Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. rfaigle1@jhmi.edu.
• Neurology. 2019 Jun 4; 92 (23): e2653-e2660.

ObjectiveWe sought to determine whether the use of carotid revascularization procedures after stroke due to carotid stenosis differs between minority-serving hospitals and hospitals serving predominantly white patients.MethodsWe identified ischemic stroke cases due to carotid disease, identified by ICD-9-CM codes, from 2007 to 2011 in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample. The use of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and carotid artery stenting (CAS) was recorded. Hospitals with ≥40% racial/ethnic minority patients (minority-serving hospitals) were compared to hospitals with <40% minority patients (predominantly white hospitals [hereafter, abbreviated to white]). Logistic regression was used to evaluate the use of CEA/CAS among minority-serving and white hospitals.ResultsOf the 26,189 ischemic stroke cases meeting inclusion criteria, 20,870 (79.7%) were treated at 1,113 white hospitals and 5,319 (20.3%) received care at 325 minority-serving hospitals. Compared to patients in white hospitals, patients in minority-serving hospitals were less likely to undergo CEA/CAS (17.6%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 16.6%-18.6%, in minority-serving vs 21.2%, 95% CI 20.7%-21.8%, in white hospitals; p < 0.001). In fully adjusted logistic regression models, the odds of CEA/CAS were lower in minority-serving compared to white hospitals (odds ratio 0.81, 95% CI 0.70-0.93), independent of individual patient race/ethnicity and other measured hospital characteristics. White and Hispanic individuals had significantly lower odds of CEA/CAS in minority-serving compared to white hospitals. Patient-level racial/ethnic differences in the use of carotid revascularization procedures remained within each hospital stratum.ConclusionThe odds of carotid revascularization after stroke is lower in minority- compared to white-serving hospitals, suggesting system-level factors as a major contributor to explain race disparities in the use of carotid revascularization.© 2019 American Academy of Neurology.

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