Tracy E Madsen1, Jane Khoury2,3, Rhonda Cadena4, Opeolu Adeoye3,5, Kathleen A Alwell6, Charles J Moomaw6, Erin McDonough3,5, Matthew L Flaherty3,6, Simona Ferioli3,6, Daniel Woo3,6, Pooja Khatri3,6, Joseph P Broderick3,6, Brett M Kissela3,6, Dawn Kleindorfer3,6. 1. Division of Sex and Gender in Emergency Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, The Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI. Tracy_Madsen@brown.edu. 2. Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH. 3. Neuroscience Institute, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH. 4. Department of Neurology and Emergency Medicine, UNC School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC. 5. Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH. 6. Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Missed diagnoses of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in the ED may result in lost opportunities to treat AIS. Our objectives were to describe the rate and clinical characteristics of missed AIS in the ED, to determine clinical predictors of missed AIS, and to report tissue plasminogen (tPA) eligibility among those with missed strokes. METHODS: Among a population of 1.3 million in a five-county region of southwest Ohio and northern Kentucky, cases of AIS that presented to 16 EDs during 2010 were identified using ICD-9 codes followed by physician verification of cases. Missed ED diagnoses were physician-verified strokes that did not receive a diagnosis indicative of stroke in the ED. Bivariate analyses were used to compare clinical characteristics between patients with and without an ED diagnosis of AIS. Logistic regression was used to evaluate predictors of missed AIS diagnoses. Alternative diagnoses given to those with missed AIS were codified. Eligibility for tPA was reported between those with and without a missed stroke diagnosis. RESULTS: Of 2,027 AIS cases, 14.0% (n = 283) were missed in the ED. Race, sex, and stroke subtypes were similar between those with missed AIS diagnoses and those identified in the ED. Hospital length of stay was longer in those with a missed diagnosis (5 days vs. 3 days, p < 0.0001). Younger age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.94, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.89 to 0.98) and decreased level of consciousness (LOC) (aOR = 3.58, 95% CI = 2.63 to 4.87) were associated with higher odds of missed AIS. Altered mental status was the most common diagnosis among those with missed AIS. Only 1.1% of those with a missed stroke diagnosis were eligible for tPA. CONCLUSION: In a large population-based sample of AIS cases, one in seven cases were not diagnosed as AIS in the ED, but the impact on acute treatment rates is likely small. Missed diagnosis was more common among those with decreased LOC, suggesting the need for improved diagnostic approaches in these patients.
OBJECTIVE: Missed diagnoses of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in the ED may result in lost opportunities to treat AIS. Our objectives were to describe the rate and clinical characteristics of missed AIS in the ED, to determine clinical predictors of missed AIS, and to report tissue plasminogen (tPA) eligibility among those with missed strokes. METHODS: Among a population of 1.3 million in a five-county region of southwest Ohio and northern Kentucky, cases of AIS that presented to 16 EDs during 2010 were identified using ICD-9 codes followed by physician verification of cases. Missed ED diagnoses were physician-verified strokes that did not receive a diagnosis indicative of stroke in the ED. Bivariate analyses were used to compare clinical characteristics between patients with and without an ED diagnosis of AIS. Logistic regression was used to evaluate predictors of missed AIS diagnoses. Alternative diagnoses given to those with missed AIS were codified. Eligibility for tPA was reported between those with and without a missed stroke diagnosis. RESULTS: Of 2,027 AIS cases, 14.0% (n = 283) were missed in the ED. Race, sex, and stroke subtypes were similar between those with missed AIS diagnoses and those identified in the ED. Hospital length of stay was longer in those with a missed diagnosis (5 days vs. 3 days, p < 0.0001). Younger age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.94, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.89 to 0.98) and decreased level of consciousness (LOC) (aOR = 3.58, 95% CI = 2.63 to 4.87) were associated with higher odds of missed AIS. Altered mental status was the most common diagnosis among those with missed AIS. Only 1.1% of those with a missed stroke diagnosis were eligible for tPA. CONCLUSION: In a large population-based sample of AIS cases, one in seven cases were not diagnosed as AIS in the ED, but the impact on acute treatment rates is likely small. Missed diagnosis was more common among those with decreased LOC, suggesting the need for improved diagnostic approaches in these patients.
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