• Maarja Soomann, Riina Vibo, and Janika Kõrv.
• Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
• Eur J Emerg Med. 2015 Aug 1;22(4):285-7.

AbstractThe aim of this study was to evaluate which factors are associated with early hospital arrival and help-seeking delays in acute stroke. All consecutive eligible patients were interviewed face-to-face within 72 h of admission. Factors associated with early arrival were assessed by univariate and multivariate analysis. The data of 195 patients were analysed. The patients who first called the emergency medical services rather than the family physician arrived earlier (odds ratio 15.9, 95% confidence interval 3.23-78.3, P<0.01). Those who contacted the emergency medical services within 30 min of symptom onset were more likely to receive thrombolysis (odds ratio 6.9, 95% confidence interval 2.6-18.4, P<0.01). The most common reasons for delaying seeking help were the hope for spontaneous recovery and perceiving the elapsed time as insignificant. The patients who call their family physician lose valuable time and their chance for thrombolysis. Many patients probably neglect symptoms because of stroke itself and therefore do not act fast enough.

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