Rapid MRI in suspected stroke patients cuts hosptial length of stay, costs: Study
USA: The use of a rapid MRI protocol in the emergency department (ED) in people suspected of acute ischemic stroke was tied to a 17% reduction in hospital length of stay and a 18.7% reduction in total direct cost, shows a recent study in The Neuroradiology Journal. The researchers however states these results to be preliminary and hypothesis-generating.
Abbreviated "rapid MRI" protocols have become more usual for the evaluation of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). No previous study has evaluated the effect of rapid MRIs on cost or hospital length of stay in AIS patients. To fill this knowledge gap, Adam de Havenon, Department of Neurology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA, and colleagues conducted a study that included 408 patients who presented in the ED for suspected stroke.
They retrospectively identified AIS patients who presented within 6 h of acute neurologic symptom onset to an ED and activated a "brain attack" code. Sequential patients from January 2012 to September 2015 were included, before rapid MRI was available, who had CT perfusion (CTP). These patients were compared with patients from October 2015 to May 2018 who had a rapid MRI.
Inverse-probability-weighting (IPW) was used to balance the cohorts. Direct cost to healthcare system and total hospital length of stay (LOS) were the primary outcomes.
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