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(Stroke. 2001;32:861.)
© 2001 American Heart Association, Inc.

Original Contributions

Community Use of Intravenous Tissue Plasminogen Activator for Acute Stroke

Results of the Brain Matters Stroke Management Survey

Irene L. Katzan, MD; Cathy A. Sila, MD Anthony J. Furlan, MD

From the Department of Neurology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio.

Correspondence to Irene L. Katzan, MD, Cerebrovascular Center, S91, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44195. E-mail katzani{at}ccf.org

Background and Purpose—Little is known of neurologists’ viewpoints regarding intravenous tPA use or institutional readiness to evaluate potential thrombolytic candidates.

Methods—Surveys were distributed at the Brain Matters Stroke Management Workshops held in 16 cities in the United States.

Results—Intravenous tPA was administered by 46.9% of responding neurologists. Almost 30% (29.9%) of surveyed neurologists were "very convinced" of its efficacy, whereas 61.6% were "very concerned" about the risk of intracranial hemorrhage. Only half of the respondents believed their institutions could meet all NINDS-recommended stroke-evaluation time targets.

Conclusions—Neurologists’ enthusiasm for the efficacy of intravenous tPA is tempered by their concern about intracranial hemorrhage. Institutional readiness for evaluating acute stroke patients is not optimized.

Editorial Comment

Results of the Brain Matters Stroke Management Survey

David C. Howse, MD, Guest Editor

Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

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