Safety of alteplase intravenous thrombolysis and influencing factors of clinical outcome in elderly patients with acute ischemic stroke

Objective To explore the safety of intravenous thrombolysis with alteplase (rt-PA) in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in the elderly (>= 80 years old) and with analyze the influencing factors of its clinical outcome. Methods A total of 144 elderly patients (>= 80 years old) with AIS who were admitted to our hospital from April 2018 to October 2019 were divided into the elderly thrombolytic group (n = 55) and the elderly non-thrombolytic group (n = 89) according to their different treatment methods, and 166 non-elderly AIS thrombolytic patients in the same period were selected as the non-elderly thrombolytic group. Routine antiplatelet therapy or anticoagulant therapy was given to the elderly non-thrombolytic group, while intravenous thrombolysis with rt-PA was given to the elderly thrombolytic group and the non-elderly thrombolytic group. The changes in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Modified Rankin Scale (mRS), and intracranial hemorrhage transformation within 7 days, mortality within 3 months were used to evaluate the prognosis and safety of patients in each group. Binary Logistic regression was used to analyze the independent factors affecting the long-term prognosis of thrombolytic therapy for AIS in the elderly. Results After the treatment, the short-term prognosis and the long-term prognosis improvement rates in the non-elderly thrombolytic group and the elderly thrombolytic group were higher than that in the elderly non-thrombolytic group (P < 0.05). There was no statistical difference in mortality between the elderly thrombolytic group and the elderly non-thrombolytic group or in intracranial hemorrhage transformation among the different groups (P > 0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that NIHSS score before treatment was an independent risk factor affecting the long-term prognosis of elderly AIS patients after thrombolysis (P < 0.05). Conclusion Elderly AIS patients after rt-PA thrombolysis therapy can improve the short-term, long-term prognosis. The risk of intracranial hemorrhage transformation and death is not higher than that of elderly non thrombolytic patients, indicating that rt-PA treatment is safe for elderly AIS patients. The NIHSS score before treatment was an independent risk factor affecting the long-term prognosis of elderly AIS patients after thrombolytic therapy.