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BACKGROUND: Treatment at stroke units is superior to treatment at other types of wards. The objective of the present study is to determine the effect size of stroke unit care in subgroups of patients with stroke. This information might be useful in a formal priority setting. METHODS: All acute strokes reported to the Swedish Stroke Register from 2001 through 2005 were followed until January 2007. The subgroups were age (18-64, 65-74, 75-84, 85+ years and above), sex (male, female), stroke subtype (intracerebral haemorrhage, cerebral infarction and unspecified stroke) and level of consciousness (conscious, reduced, unconscious). Cox proportional hazards and logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the risk for death, institutional living or dependency. RESULTS: 105,043 patients were registered at 86 hospitals. 79,689 patients (76%) were treated in stroke units and 25,354 patients (24%) in other types of wards. Stroke unit care was associated with better long-term survival in all subgroups. The best relative effect was seen among the following subgroups: age 18-64 years (hazard ratio (HR) for death 0.53; 0.49 to 0.58), intracerebral haemorrhage (HR 0.61; 0.58 to 0.65) and unconsciousness (HR 0.70; 0.66 to 0.75). Stroke unit care was also associated with reduced risk for death or institutional living after 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: Stroke unit care was associated with better long-term survival in all subgroups, but younger patients, patients with intracerebral haemorrhage and patients who were unconscious had the best relative effect and may be given the highest priority to this form of care.

Objectives. To explore nation-wide use of anticoagulation in stroke patients with atrial fibrillation, in routine clinical practice in Sweden. Design. Cross-sectional cohort study. Setting. Patients included in Riks-Stroke, the Swedish national quality register for stroke care, during 2001. Subjects. Hospitals with incomplete coverage were excluded, leaving 4538 stroke patients with atrial fibrillation amongst 18 276 stroke patients from 75 hospitals in six health care regions. Main outcome measure. Treatment with oral anticoagulants. Results. At stroke onset, the proportion of patients with atrial fibrillation and first-ever stroke, receiving oral anticoagulants as primary prevention was 11.0% (range 8.4–13.5% between regions and 2.5–24.4% between hospitals). Younger age, male sex and diabetes at stroke onset independently predicted primary prevention with oral anticoagulants. The proportion of stroke patients with atrial fibrillation receiving oral anticoagulants as secondary prevention at discharge was 33.5% (range 29.9–40.6% between regions and 16.4–61.9% between hospitals). Independent predictors for secondary prevention were younger age, male sex and independent activities of daily life (ADL) function before the stroke, being discharged to home, being fully conscious on admission and health care region. Conclusion. There were variations between hospitals and regions that differences in age, sex, functional impairments and comorbidities could not fully explain. This indicates that evidence-based primary and secondary prevention of embolic stroke is insufficiently practised. Local factors seem to determine whether patients with atrial fibrillation gain access to optimal prevention of stroke or not., digitalisering@umu