Shorter Intensive Care Unit Stay (12 Hours) Post Thrombolysis Is Safe and Reduces Length of Stay for Minor Stroke Patients.

The current standard of practice for patients with acute ischemic stroke treated with intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) requires critical monitoring for 24-hours post-treatment due to the risk of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH). This is a costly and resource intensive practice. In this study, we evaluated the safety and efficacy of this standard 24-hour ICU monitoring period compared with a shorter 12-hour ICU monitoring period for minor stroke patients (NIHSS 0-5) treated with tPA only.