ABSTRACT
Mexican Americans (MAs) have been shown to have worse outcomes after stroke than non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs), but it is unknown if ethnic differences in stroke quality of care may contribute to these worse outcomes. We investigated ethnic differences in the quality of inpatient stroke care between MAs and NHWs within the population-based prospective Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi (BASIC) Project (February 2009- June 2012). Quality measures for inpatient stroke care, based on the 2008 Joint Commission Primary Stroke Center definitions were assessed from the medical record by a trained abstractor. Two summary measure of overall quality were also created (binary measure of defect-free care and the proportion of measures achieved for which the patient was eligible). 757 individuals were included (480 MAs and 277 NHWs). MAs were younger, more likely to have hypertension and diabetes, and less likely to have atrial fibrillation than NHWs. MAs were less likely than NHWs to receive tPA (RR: 0.72, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.52, 0.98), and MAs with atrial fibrillation were less likely to receive anticoagulant medications at discharge than NHWs (RR 0.73, 95% CI 0.58, 0.94). There were no ethnic differences in the other individual quality measures, or in the two summary measures assessing overall quality. In conclusion, there were no ethnic differences in the overall quality of stroke care between MAs and NHWs, though ethnic differences were seen in the proportion of patients who received tPA and anticoagulant at discharge for atrial fibrillation.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Atrial fibrillation is a common cause of stroke with a known preventive treatment. We compared poststroke recurrence and survival in Mexican Americans (MAs) and non-Hispanic whites (NHWs) with atrial fibrillation in a population-based study. METHODS: Using surveillance methods from the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi Project, cases of ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack with atrial fibrillation were prospectively identified from January 2000 to June 2008. Recurrent stroke and all-cause mortality were compared by ethnicity with survival analysis methods. RESULTS: A total of 236 patients were available (88 MAs, 148 NHWs). MAs were younger than NHWs, with no ethnic differences in severity of the first stroke or proportion discharged on warfarin. MAs had a higher risk of stroke recurrence than did NHWs (Kaplan-Meier estimates of survival free of stroke recurrence risk at 28 days and 1 year were 0.99 and 0.85 in MAs and 0.98 and 0.96 in NHWs, respectively; P=0.01, log-rank test), which persisted despite adjustment for age and sex (hazard ratio=2.46; 95% CI, 1.19-5.11). Severity of the recurrent stroke was higher in MAs than in NHWs (P=0.02). There was no ethnic difference in survival after stroke in unadjusted analysis or after adjusting for demographic and clinical factors (hazard ratio=1.03; 95% CI, 0.63-1.67). CONCLUSIONS: MAs with atrial fibrillation have a higher stroke recurrence risk and more severe recurrences than do NHWs but no difference in all-cause mortality. Aggressive stroke prevention measures focused on MAs are warranted.