Description:
<jats:p>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.</jats:p>