Safety of a "drip and ship" intravenous thrombolysis protocol for patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Background: The "drip and ship" approach for intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) is becoming the standard of care for patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in communities without direct access to a stroke specialist. We aimed to demonstrate the safety of our "drip and ship" IVT protocol.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of patients with AIS treated with IVT between January 2003 and January 2011.