Hospitals admitting at least 100 patients with stroke a year should have a stroke unit: a case study from Australia

Table 3 Patient characteristics by self-reported stroke unit status with at least 100 admissions in a year

Patient characteristics	SU hospital n (%) N = 2,481	No SU hospital n (%) N = 417	p-value*
Age (years), median (Q1,Q3)	76 (65,84)	77 (66,85)	0.07
Male	1,364 (55)	222 (53)	0.5
Lived at home prior to stroke	2,233 (90)	358 (86)	0.01
Type of stroke
Ischemic stroke	1,983 (82)	271 (69)	<0.001
Intracerebral hemorrhage	358 (15)	61 (15)	0.7
Unknown	69 (3)	62 (16)	<0.001
Previous stroke/transient ischemic attack	792 (32)	157 (38)	0.02
Modified Rankin Score (0–1)^a	1,441 (62)	164 (52)	0.001
IHD/recent AMI	650 (33)	117 (37)	0.1
Diabetes	590 (29)	99 (29)	1.0
Atrial fibrillation	683 (34)	114 (38)	0.2
Stroke severity variables on admission (adapted from Counsell et al. [14])
Arm deficit	1,655 (69)	277 (71)	0.5
Unable to walk	1,575 (64)	242 (62)	0.3
Incontinent within 72 h	900 (38)	160 (45)	0.007
Speech/communication deficit	1,461 (62)	265 (70)	0.003

Q1 25th percentile, Q3 75th percentile, SU stroke unit, IHD ischemic heart disease, AMI acute myocardial infarction
*Chi square test p value for difference between hospitals with a stroke unit and those without a stroke unit
^aThis score is used to identify patients that may be considered ‘independent’ prior to stroke onset where they have either no symptoms or no significant disability despite symptoms; able to carry out all usual duties and activities [29]

ISSN: 1472-6963