Thrombolytic therapy in ischemic stroke patients with pre-stroke depression in the telestroke vs non-telestroke.

Background And Purpose: Thrombolysis therapy remains the gold standard in acute ischemic stroke treatment, and rates of treatment with rtPA in ischemic stroke patients with comorbid depression has yet to be fully investigated. This study aims to examine clinical risk factors associated with inclusion or exclusion for rtPA in acute ischemic stroke populations with pre-stroke depression in the telestroke versus a non-telestroke setting.

Methods: We collected retrospective data from a regional stroke registry for pre-stroke depressed ischemic stroke patients from January 2010 to June 2016.