Hjerneslag i Norge 2015–16 – behandling og resultater

BACKGROUND Treatment of stroke in Norway is decentralised; patients with stroke are treated at 50 different hospitals. We have surveyed the treatment of stroke in these hospitals and collated this with data from the Norwegian Stroke Registry. We wished to investigate whether there was any variation in treatment interventions and treatment outcomes between university hospitals and local hospitals. MATERIAL AND METHOD A questionnaire survey among all Norwegian hospitals examined treatment interventions and resource availability. Data from the Norwegian Stroke Registry in 2015-2016 (n = 17 183) were used to compare patient characteristics and treatment outcomes for patients in university hospitals (n = 5 312) and local hospitals (n = 11 871). Treatment quality was measured using the quality indicators in the Norwegian Stroke Registry. RESULTS The median age in the university hospitals was 75 years (interquartile range 65-83), and 44.1% of the patients were women. The median age in the local hospitals was 76 years (interquartile range 67-85); 46.7% women. Goal achievement on five out of ten quality indicators was high; for example, more than 90% of the patients were treated in a stroke unit, irrespective of the type of hospital. At the university hospitals, 1 038 (19.0%) of patients received thrombolytic therapy, compared to 1 612 (17.2%) in the local hospitals. Adjusted for age and level of consciousness, the probability of being self-reliant three months after the stroke was higher in local hospitals (OR 1.15, CI 1.04-1.27). INTERPRETATION The decentralised stroke treatment in Norway accomplishes high and moderate goal achievement on the Norwegian Stroke Registry\u0027s quality indicators. The quality of treatment in local hospitals appears to be equally good or better than that provided in university hospitals.