Outcome evaluation of intravenous infusion of urokinase for acute ischemic stroke.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical effect of a continuous infusion of urokinase in cerebral stoke patients who were late admitted over 6 hours after onset. From January to December in 2008, acute cerebral stroke patients (n=143) treated with intravenous urokinase infusion (Group I, n=93) or not (Group II, n=50) after 6 hours and within 72 hours of stroke onset were reviewed. Continuous intravenous infusion of urokinase was done for 5 days. The clinical outcome for each patient was evaluated by using the modified National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) on admission and on the day of discharge. The NIHSS score was decreased at discharge compared with admission in the urokinase treatment group (Group I; from 4.8±2.2 to 3.8±1.9; p=0.002). There was an improvement in the patients who initiated urokinase treatment within 24 hours from stroke onset in Group I (from 5.1±1.9 to 3.9±1.5; p=0.04). In patients with initiated urokinase treatment within 24 hours from stroke onset, intravenous urokinase infusion could be an effective modality in acute ischemic stroke patients admitted later than 6 hours after onset.