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(Stroke. 2004;35:2241-a.)
© 2004 American Heart Association, Inc.

Letters to the Editor

Are Neurologists More Likely to Prescribe Antithrombotic Therapy After Stroke?

Department of Neurology, University of Patras, Patras, Greece

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

To the Editor:

Volpato et al¹ in their recent work have highlighted the lack of antithrombotic treatment prescription at discharge from hospitals in a large proportion of patients after an ischemic brain attack. Although the rate of prescription was increased in the late 90s, 30% of patients did not receive antithrombotic treatment for secondary prevention. In the Neurology department of our hospital, there is a strong interest in stroke, so a stroke outpatient clinic was set up and has been running since early 2000. We, therefore, looked at our stroke register to find out the attitude of neurologists compared with that of the physicians in prescribing antithrombotic treatment after stroke.

During an 18-month period commencing in 2000, 278 patients (mean age 68.4±12.5, female 42%) with an acute ischemic stroke were discharged from Neurology and General Medicine wards of the University Hospital of Patras, Greece. The catchment area of our hospital is the city of Patras, which is the third largest city in Greece, and the smaller towns and villages of northwest Peloponnese. All patients were invited at discharge to attend the stroke outpatient clinic at regular intervals (1, 3, 6 and 12 months from onset).

Antithrombotic treatment was prescribed in 223 (80%) of the 278 patients (13% aspirin alone, 75% ticlopidine, clopidogrel, or slow release dipyridamole with aspirin, and 12% oral anticoagulants). Of the 198 patients (mean age 63.8±11.3), who were discharged from the Neurology wards, 16 (8%) were not taking any antithrombotic treatment, compared with 39 (49%) of the . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Stefano Volpato, MD MPH; Cinzia Maraldi, MD; Alessandro Blè, MD; Monica Ranzini, MD; Anna Rita Atti, MD; Renato Fellin, MD PhD Giovanni Zuliani, MD PhD

Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Ferrara, Section of Internal Medicine, Gerontology and Geriatrics, Ferrara, Italy

Ligia J. Dominguez, MD Mario Barbagallo, MD

Geriatric Section, Department of Emergent Pathologies, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy