Long-term outcomes of stroke unit care in older stroke patients: a retrospective cohort study

Background older patients are less frequently treated in stroke units (SUs). Clinicians do not seem convinced that older patients benefit from specialised treatment in SU similarly to younger patients. Objective our study aimed to compare older patients’ long-term outcomes with and without SU treatment. Methods this study used routinely collected health data of 232,447 patients admitted to hospitals in Germany between 2007 and 2017 who were diagnosed with ischaemic stroke (ICD 10 I63). The sample included 29,885 patients aged ≥90 years. The outcomes analysed were 10-, 30- and 90-day, and 1-, 3- and 5-year mortality and the combinations of death or recurrence, inpatient treatment and increase in long-term care needs. Bivariate chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used, adjusting for the covariates age, sex, co-morbidity, long-term care needs before stroke and socioeconomic status of the patients’ region of origin. Results between 2007 and 2017, 57.1% of patients aged Conclusions even very old patients with stroke benefit from SU treatment in the short and long term. Therefore, SU treatment should be the norm even in older patients.