After ischemic stroke, inpatient statin use increases likelihood of discharge to home or institution
TUESDAY, May 22 (HealthDay News) -- Statin use during hospitalization for ischemic stroke significantly improves the likelihood of being discharged to home or institution, according to a study published in the May 22 issue of Neurology.
In an effort to determine whether inpatient statin use was associated with improved stroke outcomes, Alexander C. Flint, M.D., Ph.D., of Kaiser Permanente in Redwood City, Calif., and colleagues retrospectively studied the discharge dispositions of 12,689 patients with ischemic stroke treated at 17 hospitals over a seven-year period.
The researchers found that patients who used statins either prior to or during hospitalization after ischemic stroke were significantly more likely to be discharged to home (odds ratio [OR], 1.38) or discharged to home or institution (OR, 2.08). A good discharge outcome was less likely among patients who underwent statin withdrawal (discharge to home OR, 0.77; discharge to home or institution OR, 0.43).
"Statins are known to reduce the risk of recurrent ischemic stroke after a patient has had an initial stroke, but the timing of when a statin should be started has remained unclear," the authors write. "The data presented here add further evidence to argue that ischemic stroke patients should be treated with a statin at the time of stroke hospitalization, as in-hospital statin use appears to significantly improve not only post-stroke survival but also discharge disposition."
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