Neuroanesthesia & neurocritical care
Ischemic Stroke in the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit: A Quality Improvement Study
Authors' conclusion
Code stroke was activated in only one-third of patients who experienced a stroke following cardiac surgery. Additionally, out of those who had code stroke activated, only one-fourth were diagnosed with LVO. Among those with LVO, two-thirds were found to have a well-established stroke on noncontrast CT scans and were deemed ineligible for intervention.
Study context
- Population
- Adults (≥18 years) who developed ischaemic stroke after cardiac surgery during admission to the Cardiac Surgery Recovery Unit, London Health Sciences Centre, Ontario, Canada, 2016–2021
- Outcome
- Frequency of stroke and code stroke activation
Methodological detailssingle-centre
- Single-centre
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Incidence rate of stroke in the Cardiac Surgery Recovery Unit (CSRU)
1.3%
Code stroke activated among stroke patients
34%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Time since last known well
- Time since last known well (hours)
- 11 ± 8
Reasons for not activating code stroke
- Most common: not meeting both timing and clinical criteria
Time for computed tomography (CT) scan
- Average time for CT (minutes)
- 36 ± 22
Large-vessel occlusion among code stroke patients
- Large- vessel occlusion (LVO) among patients with code stroke activated
- 24%
- Established stroke on initial CT among those with LVO
- 67%
Original publication
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →