Characteristics Of Asian Americans With Acute Ischemic Stroke Treated At A Tertiary/Quaternary Stroke Center

Background: Asian Americans comprise a rapidly increasing segment of the population, but little is known of their outcomes after acute ischemic stroke. We compared Asians and whites presenting to a San Francisco Bay Area tertiary/quaternary stroke center that uniquely serves a high proportion of Asian American patients, and reviewed the treatment rates and outcomes of Asian Americans presenting with acute ischemic stroke compared to whites. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of ischemic stroke patients presenting to our center between 1/2014-7/2020, conducting univariate analyses of demographics, comorbidities, and clinical outcomes in those designated as Asian compared with white patients. Odds ratios and chi-square analyses were conducted between groups. Asians were defined as those of Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese descent. Results: Between 1/2014 and 7/2020, 3958 patients presented with ischemic stroke; 852 (21.5%) were Asian and 2107 (53.2%) were white. Asians were older and more likely to have hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes, and less likely to have atrial fibrillation (Table 1). More Asians presented directly to our center, while more whites were transferred in. IV rt-PA rates are described in Table 1. Overall, Asians were less likely to receive endovascular treatment (Table 1). Asians had a higher NIHSS at discharge, although there was no difference in the proportion who expired or who were discharged home. Conclusions: Asians with ischemic stroke tended to have more comorbid conditions than whites. Though there was a trend towards similar IV rt-PA rates between Asians and whites presenting to the ED, Asians were less likely to receive endovascular treatment, and had worse NIHSS on discharge with similar proportion going home. This may have to do with local geographic/socioeconomic distribution, or differences in stroke etiology. Further analyses are needed to better elucidate these disparities.