[Ischemic stroke and vascular risk factors in young and older adults. Community-based retrospective study (2011-2020)]. / Ictus isquémico y factores de riesgo vascular en el adulto joven y el adulto mayor. Estudio retrospectivo de base comunitaria (2011-2020).

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the presence of vascular risk factors (VRF) among young adult and older adult patients with ischemic stroke, with and without follow-up in primary care after hospital discharge. DESIGN: Observational, retrospective, multicenter study. SETTING: Primary care health centers and Hospital Verge de la Cinta, Tortosa, Spain. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with ischemic stroke of two age groups (≤55 and ≥65years) distributed in two groups (GroupA: without follow-up in primary care; and GroupB: with follow-up in primary care), between 2011-2020. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Sociodemographic, clinical, and VRF data coded according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). Descriptive, and inferential statistics. RESULTS: Data from 2054 participants were analyzed. In the young adult group, 94.9% of the participants in groupA had between 1-2VRFs, compared to 60% in groupB. In the older adult group, 84.4% of groupA had between 1-2VRFs, compared to 43,9% of groupB. The most frequent VRFs among younger and older adult patients with ischemic stroke were hypertension and dyslipidemia in both follow-up groups. There were no records of obesity, smoking, or alcohol consumption in groupA. There was a significant association between being followed up in primary care after stroke and being a young adult and presenting between 3-4 VRFs (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The results reinforce the need for continuity of care and follow-up in people with acute stroke in primary care and the need to improve the quality of registries.

Revalidation of the RACE scale after its regional implementation in Catalonia: a triage tool for large vessel occlusion.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Our aim was to revalidate the RACE scale, a prehospital tool that aims to identify patients with large vessel occlusion (LVO), after its region-wide implementation in Catalonia, and to analyze geographical differences in access to endovascular treatment (EVT). METHODS: We used data from the prospective CICAT registry (Stroke Code Catalan registry) that includes all stroke code activations. The RACE score evaluated by emergency medical services, time metrics, final diagnosis, presence of LVO, and type of revascularization treatment were registered. Sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) for the RACE cut-off value ≥5 for identification of both LVO and eligibility for EVT were calculated. We compared the rate of EVT and time to EVT of patients transferred from referral centers compared with those directly presenting to comprehensive stroke centers (CSC). RESULTS: The RACE scale was evaluated in the field in 1822 patients, showing a strong correlation with the subsequent in-hospital evaluation of the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale evaluated at hospital (r=0.74, P<0.001). A RACE score ≥5 detected LVO with a sensitivity 0.84 and specificity 0.60 (AUC 0.77). Patients with RACE ≥5 harbored a LVO and received EVT more frequently than RACE <5 patients (LVO 35% vs 6%; EVT 20% vs 6%; all P<0.001). Direct admission at a CSC was independently associated with higher odds of receiving EVT compared with admission at a referral center (OR 2.40; 95% CI 1.66 to 3.46), and symtoms onset to groin puncture was 133 min shorter. CONCLUSIONS: This large validation study confirms RACE accuracy to identify stroke patients eligible for EVT, and provides evidence of geographical imbalances in the access to EVT to the detriment of patients located in remote areas.