Thrombolysis in young adults with stroke: Findings from Get With The Guidelines–Stroke

Objective To determine whether young adults (≤40 years old) with acute ischemic stroke are less likely to receive IV tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and more likely to have longer times to brain imaging and treatment. Methods We analyzed data from the Get With The Guidelines–Stroke registry for acute ischemic stroke patients hospitalized between January 2009 and September 2015. We used multivariable models with generalized estimating equations to evaluate tPA treatment and outcomes between younger (age 18–40 years) and older (age >40 years) acute ischemic stroke patients. Results Of 1,320,965 acute ischemic stroke patients admitted to 1,983 hospitals, 2.3% (30,448) were 18 to 40 years of age. Among these patients, 12.5% received tPA vs 8.8% of those >40 years of age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.56–1.71). However, younger patients were less likely to receive brain imaging within 25 minutes (62.5% vs 71.5%, aOR 0.78, 95% CI 0.73–0.84) and to be treated with tPA within 60 minutes of hospital arrival (37.0% vs 42.8%, aOR 0.74, 95% CI 0.68–0.79). Compared to older patients, younger patients treated with tPA had a lower symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage rate (1.7% vs 4.5%, aOR 0.55, 95% CI 0.42–0.72) and lower in-hospital mortality (2.0% vs 4.3%, aOR 0.65, 95% CI 0.52–0.81). Conclusions In contrast to our hypothesis, younger acute ischemic stroke patients were more likely to be treated with tPA than older patients, but they were more likely to experience delay in evaluation and treatment. Compared with older patients, younger patients had better outcomes, including fewer intracranial hemorrhages.