Temporal Trends in Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Endovascular Therapy in Acute Ischemic Stroke

Introduction Endovascular therapy (EVT) use increased following clinical trials publication in 2015, but limited data suggest there may be persistent race and ethnicity differences. Methods and Results We included all patients with acute ischemic stroke arriving within 6 hours of last known well and with National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score >= 6 between April 2012 and June 2019 in the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke database and evaluated the association between race and ethnicity and EVT use and outcomes, comparing the era before versus after 2015. Of 302 965 potentially eligible patients; 42 422 (14%) underwent EVT. Although EVT use increased over time in all racial and ethnic groups, Black patients had reduced odds of EVT use compared with non-Hispanic White (NHW) patients (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] before 2015, 0.68 [0.58-0.78]; aOR after 2015, 0.83 [0.76-0.90]). In-hospital mortality/discharge to hospice was less frequent in Black, Hispanic, and Asian patients compared with NHW. Conversely discharge home was more frequent in Hispanic (29.7%; aOR, 1.28 [1.16-1.42]), Asian (28.2%; aOR, 1.23 [1.05-1.44]), and Black (29.1%; aOR, 1.08 [1.00-1.18]) patients compared with NHW (24%). However, at 3 months, functional independence (modified Rankin Scale, 0-2) occurred less frequently in Black (37.5%; aOR, 0.84 [0.75-0.95]) and Asian (33%; aOR, 0.79 [0.65-0.98]) patients compared with NHW patients (38.1%). Conclusions In a large cohort of patients treated with EVT, Black versus NHW patient disparities in EVT use have narrowed over time but still exist. Discharge related outcomes were slightly more favorable in racial and ethnic underrepresented groups; 3-month functional outcomes were worse but improved across all groups with time.

Automated summary

According to this study, there are differences in EVT use and outcomes among racial and ethnic groups in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Although the disparities in EVT use between Black and Asian patients and non-Hispanic White patients have narrowed over time, they still exist. However, the study also found that racial and ethnic underrepresented groups have slightly more favorable outcomes in terms of discharge-related results.