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

Table 4 Outcomes of care in hospitals admitting at least 100 patients in a year by stroke unit status

Outcomes Reference: stroke unit hospital versus no stroke unit hospital	SU hospital n (%) N = 2,481	Non-SU hospital n (%) N = 417	Self-reported SU status N = 81 Odds ratio (95% CI)^a	Meet all SU criteria N = 59 Odds ratio (95% CI)^a
Modified Rankin Score (mRS) on discharge 0–2 (i.e., none to slight disability) [29]	885 (36)	106 (25)*	1.09 (0.65, 1.84)	0.94 (0.59, 1.52)
Stroke progression (including hemorrhagic transformation)	256 (10)	34 (8)	1.28 (0.67, 2.47)	1.14 (0.64, 2.04)
New stroke (recurrent event in hospital)	42 (2)	35 (8)*	0.20 (0.06, 0.61)*	0.25 (0.08, 0.74)*
Discharge destination^b
Discharged home	985 (45)	155 (45)	0.84 (0.48, 1.50)	0.88 (0.52, 1.50)
Discharged to inpatient rehabilitation	859 (35)*	98 (24)	1.23 (0.77, 1.96)	1.18 (0.77, 1.80)
Discharged to an aged care facility	219 (10)	51 (15)*	0.72 (0.36, 1.46)	0.70 (0.37, 1.34)
Died in hospital	291 (12)	75 (18)*	0.57 (0.33, 1.00)**	0.51 (0.31, 0.83)*
Died or discharged to aged care facility	510 (21)	126 (30)*	0.61 (0.36, 1.02)	0.58 (0.36, 0.92)*

^aEach outcome was adjusted for hospital stroke unit status (self-reported or if all the Acute Stroke Services Framework stroke unit criteria were met⁹), age, sex, stroke severity variables (e.g., unable to walk on admission), independent prior to stroke and type of stroke (ischemic, intracerebral hemorrhage or unknown type)
^bExcludes discharge destination noted as a statistical discharge (11% of patients); *p < 0.05; **p < 0.07

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