Effect of Hospital Arrival Time on Functional Prognosis of Stroke Patients: Japan Stroke Data Bank Over 20 Years.

Aims: The impact of weekend/holiday and nighttime hospitalization on functional outcomes and long-term trends in stroke patients is unclear. We examined functional and life outcomes and changes over time.

Methods: We analyzed the clinical data of 203,176patients for hospital arrival day of week and 76,442patients for arrival times using Japan Stroke Data Bank. The endpoints were favorable outcome (Modified Rankin Scale[mRS]0-2), unfavorable outcome(mRS 5-6), and in-hospital mortality. We calculated odds ratios(OR) and 95% confidence interval(CI) of weekends/holidays and off-hours versus weekdays and on-hours for 2000-2009 and 2010-2020 using a mixed-effect multivariate model adjusted for confounding factors and evaluated interactions. Thereafter, we performed to check for year trends.

Results: All endpoints were worse in weekend/holiday admissions for all stroke and in off-hours hospitalization for total stroke(TS), ischemic stroke(IS), and intracerebral hemorrhage(ICH). The adjusted ORs for favorable outcomes of weekend/holiday admissions were TS, 0.90(0.87-0.93); IS, 0.89(0.86-0.93); ICH, 0.91(0.84-0.98) and unfavorable outcome TS, 1.04(1.002-1.08) IS, 1.06(1.01-1.11). Off-hour hospitalization had adjusted ORs for favorable outcome(TS, 0.86 [95% CI: 0.82-0.91]; IS, 0.90 [0.84-0.95]; ICH, 0.85 [0.75-0.96]), unfavorable outcome(TS, 1.14 [1.07-1.22]; IS, 1.13 [1.04-1.23]; ICH, 1.15 [1.01-1.31]), and mortality (TS, 1.15 [1.05-1.26]; IS, 1.17 [1.04-1.32]). For IS, the incidence of unfavorable outcomes during off-hours was significantly lower in 2010-2020 than in 2000-2009; after adjusting for reperfusion therapy, it was no longer significant.

Conclusion: Stroke patients admitted on weekends/holidays and off-hours had worse functional and life outcomes. Functional outcomes for off-hour admission for IS improved at 10-year intervals, possibly due to improvements in stroke care systems.