Improving the clinical outcome in stroke patients receiving thrombolytic or endovascular treatment in Korea: From the SECRET study

We investigated whether there was an annual change in outcomes in patients who received the thrombolytic therapy or endovascular treatment (EVT) in Korea. This analysis was performed using data from a nationwide multicenter registry for exploring the selection criteria of patients who would benefit from reperfusion therapies in Korea. We compared the annual changes in the modified Rankin scale (mRS) at discharge and after 90 days and the achievement of successful recanalization from 2012 to 2017. We also investigated the determinants of favorable functional outcomes. Among 1230 included patients, the improvement of functional outcome at discharge after reperfusion therapy was noted as the calendar year increased (p < 0.001). The proportion of patients who were discharged to home significantly increased (from 45.6% in 2012 to 58.5% in 2017) (p < 0.001). The successful recanalization rate increased over time from 78.6% in 2012 to 85.1% in 2017 (p = 0.006). Time from door to initiation of reperfusion therapy decreased over the years (p < 0.05). These secular trends of improvements were also observed in 1203 patients with available mRS data at 90 days (p < 0.05). Functional outcome was associated with the calendar year, age, initial stroke severity, diabetes, preadmission disability, intervals from door to reperfusion therapy, and achievement of successful recanalization. This study demonstrated the secular trends of improvement in functional outcome and successful recanalization rate in patients who received reperfusion therapy in Korea.