The quest to reduce stroke treatment delays at a Melbourne metropolitan primary stroke centre over the past two decades

Abstract

Background: Reducing door-to-needle time (DNT) for intravenous thrombolysis in acute ischaemic stroke can lead to improved patient outcomes. Long-term reports on DNT trends in Australia are lacking in the setting of extension of the thrombolysis time window, addition of mechanical thrombectomy and increasing presentations. Aims: To examine 17-year trends of DNT and identify factors associated with improved DNT at a high-volume, metropolitan primary stroke centre. Method: Retrospective study between 2003 and 2019 of all thrombolysis cases using departmental stroke database. Since most strategies were implemented from 2012 onwards, intervention period has been defined as period 2012–2019. Fact..