Association between neighborhood socioeconomic status and mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke: A nationwide multilevel observational study.

OBJECTIVE: Acute ischemic stroke is a major health burden worldwide and mechanical thrombectomy is the treatment of choice for large-vessel occlusion stroke. This study aimed to evaluate the association between neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and the likelihood of receiving mechanical thrombectomy in patients with acute ischemic stroke. METHODS: A nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted using the National Emergency Department Information System database. Patients who were diagnosed with ischemic stroke in the emergency department (ED) within 24 h of symptom onset between 2018 and 2021 were included. The neighborhood SES index was measured at the county level using property tax per capita, education level, and the proportions of single families and single-parent households. The study population was divided into quartiles based on the neighborhood SES index. The study outcome was mechanical thrombectomy. Multilevel multivariable logistic regression was performed. An interaction analysis between mental status at the ED triage and neighborhood SES was also performed. RESULTS: Among the 196,007 patients, 8968 (4.6%) underwent mechanical thrombectomy. Compared with the affluent group, the deprived-middle and deprived groups were less likely to receive mechanical thrombectomy; the adjusted ORs (95% CIs) were 1.00 (0.92-1.09), 0.82 (0.74-0.91), and 0.82 (0.72-0.93) for the affluent-middle, deprived-middle, and deprived groups, respectively. Altered mental status at the ED triage strengthened the association between neighborhood SES and the likelihood of receiving mechanical thrombectomy (adjusted ORs [95% CIs] 0.85 [0.81-0.89] for the affluent-middle to deprived-middle group and 0.66 [0.65-0.66] for deprived groups, p-value for interaction < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: For patients diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke at the ED, low neighborhood SES is associated with low odds of receiving mechanical thrombectomy. Public health strategies should be developed to resolve these disparities and to decrease the health care burden of acute ischemic stroke.