• D Tanne, M J Gorman, V E Bates, S E Kasner, P Scott, P Verro, J R Binder, J M Dayno, L R Schultz, and S R Levine.
• Departments of Neurology, Henry Ford Health Science Center, Detroit, MI, USA. tanne@post.tau.ac.il
• Stroke. 2000 Feb 1; 31 (2): 370-5.

Background And PurposeIntravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) administered within 3 hours of symptom onset is the first available effective therapy for acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Few data exist, however, on its use in very elderly patients. We examined the characteristics, complications, and short-term outcome of AIS patients aged >/=80 years treated with tPA.MethodsPatients aged >/=80 years (n=30) were compared with counterparts aged <80 years (n=159) included in the tPA Stroke Survey, a US retrospective survey of 189 consecutive AIS patients treated with intravenous tPA at 13 hospitals.ResultsRisk of intracerebral hemorrhage (fatal, symptomatic, and total) was 3%, 3%, and 7% in the elderly age group and 2%, 6%, and 9%, respectively, in their younger counterparts (P=NS for all comparisons). Likelihood of favorable outcome, defined as modified Rankin score 0 to 1, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score ConclusionsAmong AIS patients treated with intravenous tPA, age-related differences in characteristics and disposition were identified. No evidence for withholding tPA treatment for AIS in appropriately selected patients aged >/=80 years was identified.

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