• Nandakumar Nagaraja, Pratik Bhattacharya, Gregory Norris, William Coplin, Sandra Narayanan, Andrew Xavier, Kumar Rajamani, and Seemant Chaturvedi.
• Department of Neurology and Stroke Program, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USA.
• J. Neurol. Sci. 2012 May 15; 316 (1-2): 168-9.

Background And PurposeTimely intervention in young stroke patients minimizes long term disability. We hypothesized that arrival to the emergency department by ambulance would be associated with increased rate of stroke intervention with intravenous t-PA or intra arterial procedures.MethodsCharts of 77 patients aged 15-49 years diagnosed with ischemic stroke were analyzed. Data was collected on demographics, arrival to emergency department by ambulance, whether initial hospital at presentation was a Primary Stroke Center, and intervention by intravenous t-PA or intra arterial procedures. Data was analyzed by Fisher's exact test, and significant variables were included in multivariable analysis.ResultsArrival by ambulance was significantly associated with acute stroke intervention in young adults (p=0.016). Gender and Primary Stroke Center certification did not make a difference in patients getting stroke intervention.ConclusionYoung adults with stroke symptoms were more likely to receive acute stroke intervention if they arrived by ambulance. Larger multi-center studies should address whether Primary Stroke Centers are more likely to provide either IV thrombolysis or interventional therapies in young patients with acute ischemic stroke.Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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