Abstract

TAULAIGO, Anna; PEDRO, Bárbara; MARIANO, Marisa  and  NUNES, Ana Paiva. Gender Differences in Acute Ischemic Stroke Treatment. Medicina Interna [online]. 2020, vol.27, n.3, pp.16-25. ISSN 0872-671X.  https://doi.org/10.24950/O/34/20/3/2020.

Introduction: In order to personalize stroke treatment, it is important to know if there are differences between genders in clinical features, acute phase treatment and outcomes. Material and Methods: Longitudinal retrospective study that included patients with ischemic stroke, admitted in a stroke unit during a 30 months period and treated with thrombectomy with or without thrombolysis. The objective was to assess gender differences. Results: Of 594 patients included, 50% were women. At admission, women had higher median age (78 vs 73 years), higher modified Rankin Score (mRS) and higher median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). No gender differences were found in treatment type, median time between symptoms onset and computed tomography, between computed tomography and thrombolysis and with respect to revascularization success. Disability expressed by mRS and mortality at 3 months were similar between genders. More women had atrial fibrillation (AF) (51% vs 35%), nevertheless, less women with known AF were receiving anticoagulant therapy before the event, compared to men (38% vs 52%). Discussion: Even if women were older and had worse premorbid functional status, no gender differences were evident with regard to acute phase treatment efficacy and medium-term outcomes. Conclusion: In women, age should not limit acute phase treatment of stroke and decisions should be individualized.

Keywords : Brain Ischemia/drug therapy; Sex Factors; Stroke/drug therapy.

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