Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke Who Receive Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging Demonstrate Favorable In-Hospital Outcomes.

Background Use of inpatient brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with acute ischemic stroke is highly institution dependent and has been associated with increased length and cost of hospital stay. We examined whether inpatient brain MRI in patients with acute ischemic stroke is associated with improved clinical outcomes to justify its resource requirements. Methods and Results The National Inpatient Sample database was queried retrospectively to find 94 003 patients who were admitted for acute ischemic stroke and then received inpatient brain MRI between 2012 and 2014.