Women and In-hospital Stroke Code Activation: Age, Ethnicity, and Unique Symptoms Matter

Abstract

Background Women have worse stroke outcomes than men, and almost 17% of all stroke cases have symptom onset when admitted to the hospital for a separate condition. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the distinctive factors that impact the activation of an in-hospital stroke code and outcomes in women who have a stroke while admitted to the hospital for a separate condition. Methods A retrospective observational propensity score study guided by the model for nursing effectiveness was used. Results In-hospital stroke code was activated in 46 of 149 or 30.9% of women and 15 of 149 or 10.1% of women received thrombolytic therapy. Activation of an in-hospital stroke code was significant (P