ePrints

Stroke Unit Care Benefits Patients with Intracerebral Hemorrhage: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Lookup NU author(s): Emerita Professor Helen Rodgers

Downloads

Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.

Abstract

Background and Purpose—Patients with any type of stroke managed in organized inpatient (stroke unit) care are more likely to survive, return home, and regain independence. However, it is uncertain whether these benefits apply equally to patients with intracerebral hemorrhage and ischemic stroke.Methods—We conducted a secondary analysis of a systematic review of controlled clinical trials comparing stroke unit care with general ward care, including only trials published after 1990 that could separately report outcomes for patients with intracerebral hemorrhage and ischemic stroke. We performed random-effects meta-analyses and tested for subgroup interactions by stroke type.Results—We identified 13 trials (3570 patients) of modern stroke unit care that recruited patients with intracerebral hemorrhage and ischemic stroke, of which 8 trials provided data on 2657 patients. Stroke unit care reduced death or dependency (risk ratio [RR], 0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.471–0.92; P=0.0009; I2=60%) with no difference in benefits for patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (RR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.61–1.00) than patients with ischemic stroke (RR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.70–0.97; Pinteraction=0.77). Stroke unit care reduced death (RR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.64–0.97; P=0.02; I2=49%) to a greater extent for patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (RR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.54–0.97) than patients with ischemic stroke (RR, 0.82; 95%, CI 0.61–1.09), but this difference was not statistically significant (Pinteraction=0.58).Conclusions—Patients with intracerebral hemorrhage seem to benefit at least as much as patients with ischemic stroke from organized inpatient (stroke unit) care.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Langhorne P, Fearon P, Ronning OM, Kaste M, Palomaki H, Vemmos K, Kalra L, Indredavik B, Blomstrand C, Rodgers H, Dennis MS, Al-Shahi R

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Stroke

Year: 2013

Volume: 44

Issue: 11

Pages: 3044-9

Print publication date: 24/09/2013

ISSN (print): 0039-2499

ISSN (electronic): 1524-4628

Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.113.001564

DOI: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.113.001564

Altmetrics

Funding

Share