Abstract TP282: Impact of Interhospital Transfer on Patients Undergoing Endovascular Thrombectomy for Acute Ischemic Stroke From a Comprehensive Stroke Center

Objective: This study aims to evaluate how interhospital transfers impact the correlation between functional outcomes, mortality, reperfusion rates, and workflow time metrics in patients undergoing endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke caused by large vessel occlusion (LVO).

Background: This analysis is based on a prospective database encompassing consecutive patients who underwent EVT for LVO between January 2021 and June 2023 at a comprehensive stroke center (CSC). Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome measures assessed include the rate of favorable 90-day functional outcomes (modified Rankin Scale 0-2), successful reperfusion (Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction scale grade 2b or 3), symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH), and 90-day mortality. Additionally, essential workflow time metric milestones were analyzed.

Results: Out of 363 patients, 172 (47.4%) were transferred from other hospitals. The transferred patients were relatively younger than those who presented directly (66.5 ± 15.6 vs. 70.6 ± 14.5). No significant differences were observed in baseline characteristics, including gender, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, and the rate of intravenous thrombolysis, between the transferred and direct presentation groups (all p > 0.05). The time of symptom onset to groin puncture time was significantly higher for the transfer group (703.6 min vs. 394.5 min, p < 0.0001), while comparable figures were noted for groin puncture to reperfusion time (43.9 min vs. 45.1 min, p = 0.7071) and ICU length of stay (70.8 hours vs. 59.3 hours, p = 0.7071) between the two cohorts. Similar rates were also seen for successful reperfusion (p = 0.2348), sICH (p = 0.4933), favorable 90-day functional outcomes (p = 0.9457), mortality (p = 0.8534), and composite complications during hospitalization (p = 0.5779).

Conclusion: Although we observed significantly longer time intervals from symptom onset to initiation of mechanical thrombectomy in patients transferred from outside facilities, there were no adverse consequences on patient outcomes.