Outcome of intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke in patients with and without atrial fibrillation

Introduction. Atrial fibrillation is associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke. The benefit of intravenous thrombolysis in patients with acute ischemic stroke and atrial fibrillation is still unclear. The aim of the study was to assess and compare the effects of intravenous thrombolysis in stroke patients with and without atrial fibrillation. Material and Methods. We analyzed stroke patients who were treated with intravenous thrombolysis. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence of atrial fibrillation. Demographic, clinical and radiological characteristics of patients were compared between the two groups. The treatment efficacy was evaluated in relation to the improvement of neurological status after 24 hours, and functional recovery after three months. Binary logistic regression was used to evaluate predictors of outcome. Results. From a total of 188 patients, 39.4% presented with atrial fibrillation. Patients with atrial fibrillation were older (69.4 vs. 62.6 years; p <0.0001), with female predominance (43.2% vs. 28.9%, p = 0.04) and had clinically more severe stroke (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, score on admission 15.4 vs. 12.1; p = 0.0001). Significantly more patients without atrial fibrillation (61.4% vs. 43.2%, p = 0.01) had a favorable clinical outcome at three months after stroke. Nevertheless, atrial fibrillation was not an independent predictor of poor outcome at three months after stroke (p=0.66). Conclusion. Acute ischemic stroke patients, with atrial fibrillation, treated with intravenous thrombolysis, had worse outcomes than patients without atrial fibrillation did. However, it is mainly due to older age and a more severe stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation.