Do certain patient characteristics influence the speed of intravenous thrombolysis delivery and door-to-needle time in acute stroke management? The answer is yes, according to a Cleveland Clinic study presented at the 2018 International Stroke Conference.

The researchers reviewed 124 patients with acute stroke treated with IV thrombolysis on Cleveland Clinic’s mobile stroke treatment unit over three years following the unit’s launch in 2014. Their aim was to identify characteristics associated with more rapid treatment delivery in hopes of potentially refining processes of care. The findings are likely to apply to acute stroke patients in treatment settings beyond mobile stroke units.

In this 90-second video, coinvestigator Andrew Russman, DO, shares the study’s findings on which patient characteristics most influenced treatment time and potential reasons why.