Stroke clinical registries are critical for systems planning, quality improvement, advocacy and informing policy. We describe the methodology and evolution of the Registry of the Canadian Stroke Network/Ontario Stroke Registry in Canada.

At the launch of the registry in 2001, trained coordinators prospectively identified patients with acute stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) at comprehensive stroke centers across Canada and obtained consent for registry participation and follow-up interviews. From 2003 onward, patients were identified from administrative databases, and consent was waived for data collection on a sample of eligible patients across all hospitals in Ontario and in one site in Nova Scotia. In the most recent data collection cycle, consecutive eligible patients were included across Ontario, but patients with TIA and those seen in the emergency department without admission were excluded.

Between 2001 and 2013, the registry included 110,088 patients. Only 1,237 patients had follow-up interviews, but administrative data linkages allowed for indefinite follow-up of deaths and other measures of health services utilization. After a hiatus, the registry resumed data collection in 2019, with 13,828 charts abstracted to date with a focus on intracranial vascular imaging, identification of intracranial occlusions and treatment with thrombectomy.

The Registry of the Canadian Stroke Network/Ontario Stroke Registry is a large population-based clinical database that has evolved throughout the last two decades to meet contemporary stroke needs. Registry data have been used to monitor stroke quality of care and conduct outcomes research to inform policy.

Acute stroke treatments are highly time-sensitive, with geographical disparities affecting access to care. This study examined the impact of driving distance to the nearest comprehensive stroke center (CSC) and rurality on the use of thrombectomy or thrombolysis in Ontario, Canada.

This retrospective cohort study used administrative data to identify adults hospitalized with acute ischemic stroke between 2017 and 2022. Driving time from patients’ residences to the nearest CSC was calculated using the Ontario Road Network File and postal codes. Rurality was categorized using postal codes. Multivariable logistic regression, adjusted for baseline differences, estimated the association between driving distance and treatment with thrombectomy (primary outcome) or thrombolysis (secondary outcome). Driving time was modeled as a continuous variable using restricted cubic splines.

Data from 57,678 patients (median age 74 years, IQR 64–83) were analyzed. Increased driving time was negatively associated with thrombectomy in a nonlinear fashion. Patients living 120 minutes from a CSC were 20% less likely to receive thrombectomy (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.80, 95% CI 0.62–1.04), and those 240 minutes away were 60% less likely (aOR 0.41, 95% CI 0.28–0.60). Driving time did not affect thrombolysis rates, even at 240 minutes (aOR 1.0, 95% CI 0.70–1.42). Thrombectomy use was similar in medium urban areas (aOR 0.80, 95% CI 0.56–1.16) and small towns (aOR 0.78, 95% CI 0.57–1.06) compared to large urban areas.

Thrombolysis access is equitable across Ontario, but thrombectomy access decreases with increased driving distance to CSCs. A multifaceted approach, combining healthcare policy innovation and infrastructure development, is necessary for equitable thrombectomy delivery.

To examine the association of co-morbidity with home-time after acute stroke and whether the association is influenced by age.

We conducted a province-wide study using linked administrative databases to identify all admissions for first acute ischemic stroke or intracerebral hemorrhage between 2007 and 2018 in Alberta, Canada. We used ischemic stroke-weighted Charlson Co-morbidity Index of 3 or more to identify those with severe co-morbidity. We used zero-inflated negative binomial models to determine the association of severe co-morbidity with 90-day and 1-year home-time, and logistic models for achieving ≥ 80 out of 90 days of home-time, assessing for effect modification by age and adjusting for sex, stroke type, comprehensive stroke center care, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, year of study, and separately adjusting for estimated stroke severity. We also evaluated individual co-morbidities.

Among 28,672 patients in our final cohort, severe co-morbidity was present in 27.7% and was associated with lower home-time, with a greater number of days lost at younger age (−13 days at age < 60 compared to −7 days at age 80+ years for 90-day home-time; −69 days at age < 60 compared to −51 days at age 80+ years for 1-year home-time). The reduction in probability of achieving ≥ 80 days of home-time was also greater at younger age (−22.7% at age < 60 years compared to −9.0% at age 80+ years). Results were attenuated but remained significant after adjusting for estimated stroke severity and excluding those who died. Myocardial infarction, diabetes, and cancer/metastases had a greater association with lower home-time at younger age, and those with dementia had the greatest reduction in home time.

Severe co-morbidity in acute stroke is associated with lower home-time, more strongly at younger age.

Stroke outcomes research requires risk-adjustment for stroke severity, but this measure is often unavailable. The Passive Surveillance Stroke SeVerity (PaSSV) score is an administrative data-based stroke severity measure that was developed in Ontario, Canada. We assessed the geographical and temporal external validity of PaSSV in British Columbia (BC), Nova Scotia (NS) and Ontario, Canada.

We used linked administrative data in each province to identify adult patients with ischemic stroke or intracerebral hemorrhage between 2014-2019 and calculated their PaSSV score. We used Cox proportional hazards models to evaluate the association between the PaSSV score and the hazard of death over 30 days and the cause-specific hazard of admission to long-term care over 365 days. We assessed the models’ discriminative values using Uno’s c-statistic, comparing models with versus without PaSSV.

We included 86,142 patients (n = 18,387 in BC, n = 65,082 in Ontario, n = 2,673 in NS). The mean and median PaSSV were similar across provinces. A higher PaSSV score, representing lower stroke severity, was associated with a lower hazard of death (hazard ratio and 95% confidence intervals 0.70 [0.68, 0.71] in BC, 0.69 [0.68, 0.69] in Ontario, 0.72 [0.68, 0.75] in NS) and admission to long-term care (0.77 [0.76, 0.79] in BC, 0.84 [0.83, 0.85] in Ontario, 0.86 [0.79, 0.93] in NS). Including PaSSV in the multivariable models increased the c-statistics compared to models without this variable.

PaSSV has geographical and temporal validity, making it useful for risk-adjustment in stroke outcomes research, including in multi-jurisdiction analyses.

To assess cost-effectiveness of late time-window endovascular treatment (EVT) in a clinical trial setting and a “real-world” setting.

Data are from the randomized ESCAPE trial and a prospective cohort study (ESCAPE-LATE). Anterior circulation large vessel occlusion patients presenting > 6 hours from last-known-well were included, whereby collateral status was an inclusion criterion for ESCAPE but not ESCAPE-LATE. A Markov state transition model was built to estimate lifetime costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) for EVT in addition to best medical care vs. best medical care only in a clinical trial setting (comparing ESCAPE-EVT to ESCAPE control arm patients) and a “real-world” setting (comparing ESCAPE-LATE to ESCAPE control arm patients). We performed an unadjusted analysis, using 90-day modified Rankin Scale(mRS) scores as model input and analysis adjusted for baseline factors. Acceptability of EVT was calculated using upper/lower willingness-to-pay thresholds of 100,000 USD/50,000 USD/QALY.

Two-hundred and forty-nine patients were included (ESCAPE-LATE:n = 200, ESCAPE EVT-arm:n = 29, ESCAPE control-arm:n = 20). Late EVT in addition to best medical care was cost effective in the unadjusted analysis both in the clinical trial and real-world setting, with acceptability 96.6%–99.0%. After adjusting for differences in baseline variables between the groups, late EVT was marginally cost effective in the clinical trial setting (acceptability:49.9%–61.6%), but not the “real-world” setting (acceptability:32.9%–42.6%).

EVT for LVO-patients presenting beyond 6 hours was cost effective in the clinical trial setting and “real-world” setting, although this was largely related to baseline patient differences favoring the “real-world” EVT group. After adjusting for these, EVT benefit was reduced in the trial setting, and absent in the real-world setting.

Derive and externally validate a prediction model for pneumococcal urinary antigen test (pUAT) positivity.

Retrospective cohort study of adults admitted with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) to 177 U.S. hospitals in the Premier Database (derivation and internal validation samples) or 12 Cleveland Clinic hospitals (external validation sample). We utilized multivariable logistic regression to predict pUAT positivity in the derivation dataset, followed by model performance evaluation in both validation datasets. Potential predictors included demographics, comorbidities, clinical findings, and markers of disease severity.

Of 198,130 Premier patients admitted with CAP, 27,970 (14.1%) underwent pUAT; 1962 (7.0%) tested positive. The strongest predictors of pUAT positivity were history of pneumococcal infection in the previous year (OR 6.99, 95% CI 4.27–11.46), severe CAP on admission (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.56–1.98), substance abuse (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.27–1.93), smoking (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.09–1.39), and hyponatremia (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.17–1.55). Negative predictors included IV antibiotic use in past year (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.52–0.82), congestive heart failure (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.63–0.83), obesity (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.60–0.85), and admission from skilled nursing facility (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.45–0.78). Model c-statistics were 0.60 and 0.67 in the internal and external validation cohorts, respectively. Compared to guideline-recommended testing of severe CAP patients, our model would have detected 23% more cases with 5% fewer tests.

Readily available data can identify patients most likely to have a positive pUAT. Our model could be incorporated into automated clinical decision support to improve test efficiency and antimicrobial stewardship.

Although age-standardized stroke occurrence has been decreasing, the absolute number of stroke events globally, and in Canada, is increasing. Stroke surveillance is necessary for health services planning, informing research design, and public health messaging. We used administrative data to estimate the number of stroke events resulting in hospital or emergency department presentation across Canada in the 2017–18 fiscal year.

Hospitalization data were obtained from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) Discharge Abstract Database and the Ministry of Health and Social Services in Quebec. Emergency department data were obtained from the CIHI National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (Alberta and Ontario). Stroke events were identified using ICD-10 coding. Data were linked into episodes of care to account for readmissions and interfacility transfers. Projections for emergency department visits for provinces/territories outside of Alberta and Ontario were generated based upon age and sex-standardized estimates from Alberta and Ontario.

In the 2017–18 fiscal year, there were 108,707 stroke events resulting in hospital or emergency department presentation across the country. This was made up of 54,357 events resulting in hospital admission and 54,350 events resulting in only emergency department presentation. The events resulting in only emergency department presentation consisted of 25,941 events observed in Alberta and Ontario and a projection of 28,409 events across the rest of the country.

We estimate a stroke event resulting in hospital or emergency department presentation occurs every 5 minutes in Canada.

Trait dissociation has not been examined from a structural human brain mapping perspective in healthy adults or children. Non-pathological dissociation shares some features with daydreaming and mind-wandering, but also involves subtle disruptions in affect and autobiographical memory.

To identify neurostructural biomarkers of trait dissociation in healthy children.

Typically developing 9- to 15-year-olds (n = 180) without psychological or behavioural disorders were enrolled in the Developmental Chronnecto-Genomics (DevCoG) study of healthy brain development and completed psychological assessments of trauma exposure and dissociation, along with a structural T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. We conducted univariate ANCOVA generalised linear models for each region of the default mode network examining the effects of trait dissociation, including scanner site, age, gender and trauma as covariates and correcting for multiple comparison.

We found that the precuneus was significantly larger in children with higher levels of trait dissociation but this was not related to trauma exposure. The inferior parietal volume was smaller in children with higher levels of trauma but was not related to dissociation. No other regions of interest, including frontal and limbic structures, were significantly related to trait dissociation even before multiple comparison correction.

Trait dissociation reflects subtle cognitive disruptions worthy of study in healthy people and warrants study as a potential risk factor for psychopathology. This neurostructural study of trait dissociation in healthy children identified the precuneus as an essential brain region to consider in future dissociation research.

The Passive Surveillance Stroke Severity (PaSSV) Indicator was derived to estimate stroke severity from variables in administrative datasets but has not been externally validated.

We used linked administrative datasets to identify patients with first hospitalization for acute stroke between 2007-2018 in Alberta, Canada. We used the PaSSV indicator to estimate stroke severity. We used Cox proportional hazard models and evaluated the change in hazard ratios and model discrimination for 30-day and 1-year case fatality with and without PaSSV. Similar comparisons were made for 90-day home time thresholds using logistic regression. We also linked with a clinical registry to obtain National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and compared estimates from models without stroke severity, with PaSSV, and with NIHSS.

There were 28,672 patients with acute stroke in the full sample. In comparison to no stroke severity, addition of PaSSV to the 30-day case fatality models resulted in improvement in model discrimination (C-statistic 0.72 [95%CI 0.71–0.73] to 0.80 [0.79–0.80]). After adjustment for PaSSV, admission to a comprehensive stroke center was associated with lower 30-day case fatality (adjusted hazard ratio changed from 1.03 [0.96–1.10] to 0.72 [0.67–0.77]). In the registry sample (N = 1328), model discrimination for 30-day case fatality improved with the inclusion of stroke severity. Results were similar for 1-year case fatality and home time outcomes.

Addition of PaSSV improved model discrimination for case fatality and home time outcomes. The validity of PASSV in two Canadian provinces suggests that it is a useful tool for baseline risk adjustment in acute stroke.

Diminished sensory gating (SG) is a robust finding in psychotic disorders, but studies of early psychosis (EP) are rare. It is unknown whether SG deficit leads to poor neurocognitive, social, and/or real-world functioning. This study aimed to explore the longitudinal relationships between SG and these variables.

Seventy-nine EP patients and 88 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited at baseline. Thirty-three and 20 EP patients completed 12-month and 24-month follow-up, respectively. SG was measured using the auditory dual-click (S1 & S2) paradigm and quantified as P50 ratio (S2/S1) and difference (S1-S2). Cognition, real-life functioning, and symptoms were assessed using the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery, Global Functioning: Social (GFS) and Role (GFR), Multnomah Community Ability Scale (MCAS), Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT), and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Analysis of variance (ANOVA), chi-square, mixed model, correlation and regression analyses were used for group comparisons and relationships among variables controlling for potential confounding variables.

In EP patients, P50 ratio (p < 0.05) and difference (p < 0.001) at 24-month showed significant differences compared with that at baseline. At baseline, P50 indices (ratio, S1-S2 difference, S1) were independently associated with GFR in HCs (all p < 0.05); in EP patients, S2 amplitude was independently associated with GFS (p = 0.037). At 12-month and 24-month, P50 indices (ratio, S1, S2) was independently associated with MCAS (all p < 0.05). S1-S2 difference was a trending predictor of future function (GFS or MCAS).

SG showed progressive reduction in EP patients. P50 indices were related to real-life functioning.

To describe epidemiologic and genomic characteristics of a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak in a large skilled-nursing facility (SNF), and the strategies that controlled transmission.

This cohort study was conducted during March 22–May 4, 2020, among all staff and residents at a 780-bed SNF in San Francisco, California.

Contact tracing and symptom screening guided targeted testing of staff and residents; respiratory specimens were also collected through serial point prevalence surveys (PPSs) in units with confirmed cases. Cases were confirmed by real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction testing for SARS-CoV-2, and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was used to characterize viral isolate lineages and relatedness. Infection prevention and control (IPC) interventions included restricting from work any staff who had close contact with a confirmed case; restricting movement between units; implementing surgical face masking facility-wide; and the use of recommended PPE (ie, isolation gown, gloves, N95 respirator and eye protection) for clinical interactions in units with confirmed cases.

Of 725 staff and residents tested through targeted testing and serial PPSs, 21 (3%) were SARS-CoV-2 positive: 16 (76%) staff and 5 (24%) residents. Fifteen cases (71%) were linked to a single unit. Targeted testing identified 17 cases (81%), and PPSs identified 4 cases (19%). Most cases (71%) were identified before IPC interventions could be implemented. WGS was performed on SARS-CoV-2 isolates from 4 staff and 4 residents: 5 were of Santa Clara County lineage and the 3 others were distinct lineages.

Early implementation of targeted testing, serial PPSs, and multimodal IPC interventions limited SARS-CoV-2 transmission within the SNF.

Contemporary data on temporal trends in acute stroke incidence, specific to stroke type and age, are lacking. We sought to evaluate temporal trends in incidence of ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage over 15 years in a large population.

We used linked administrative data to identify all emergency department visits and hospital admissions for first-ever ischemic stroke or intracerebral hemorrhage in Ontario, Canada from 2003–2017. We evaluated annual age-/sex-standardized incidence per 100,000 person-years for ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage across the study period. We used negative binomial regression to determine incidence rate ratios for each year compared to 2003, with assessment of modification by age, sex, or stroke type.

Our cohort had 163,574 people with stroke (88% ischemic stroke). For ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage combined, age-/sex-standardized incidence decreased between 2003 and 2011 (standardized rate 109.4 to 85.8 per 100,000; 22%), then increased until 2017 (standardized rate 96.8 per 100,000; 13%). The pattern of change was similar for ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage, and for men and women, but was modified by age. For those aged 60 and above, adjusted incidence rate ratios decreased from 2003 to 2011 then subsequently increased, whereas for those aged <60 years incidence rate ratios increased throughout the entire study time period, particularly after 2011.

Acute stroke incidence decreased from 2003 to 2011 but subsequently increased until 2017. Among those aged <60, incidence increased continuously from 2003 to 2017 but especially after 2011. The underlying reasons for these changes should be determined.

Improvements in management of transient ischemic attack (TIA) have decreased stroke and mortality post-TIA. Studies examining trends over time on a provincial level are limited. We analyzed whether efforts to improve management have decreased the rate of stroke and mortality after TIA from 2003 to 2015 across an entire province.

Using administrative data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information’s (CIHI) databases from 2003 to 2015, we identified a cohort of patients with a diagnosis of TIA upon discharge from the emergency department (ED). We examined stroke rates at Day 1, 2, 7, 30, 90, 180, and 365 post-TIA and 1-year mortality rates and compared trends over time between 2003 and 2015.

From 2003 to 2015 in Ontario, there were 61,710 patients with an ED diagnosis of TIA. Linear regressions of stroke after the index TIA showed a significant decline between 2003 and 2015, decreasing by 25% at Day 180 and 32% at 1 year (p < 0.01). The 1-year stroke rate decreased from 6.0% in 2003 to 3.4% in 2015. Early (within 48 h) stroke after TIA continued to represent approximately half of the 1-year event rates. The 1-year mortality rate after ED discharge following a TIA decreased from 1.3% in 2003 to 0.3% in 2015 (p < 0.001).

At a province-wide level, 1-year rates of stroke and mortality after TIA have declined significantly between 2003 and 2015, suggesting that efforts to improve management may have contributed toward the decline in long-term risk of stroke and mortality. Continued efforts are needed to further reduce the immediate risk of stroke following a TIA.

Delayed presentation to the emergency department influences acute stroke care and can result in worse outcomes. Despite public health messaging, many young adults consider stroke as a disease of older people. We determined the differences in ambulance utilization and delays to hospital presentation between women and men as well as younger (18–44 years) versus older (≥45 years) patients with stroke.

We conducted a population-based retrospective study using national administrative health data from the Canadian Institute of Health Information databases and examined data between 2003 and 2016 to compare ambulance utilization and time to hospital presentation across sex and age.

Young adults account for 3.9% of 463,310 stroke/transient ischemic attack/hemorrhage admissions. They have a higher proportion of hemorrhage (37% vs. 15%) and fewer ischemic events (50% vs. 68%) compared with older patients. Younger patients are less likely to arrive by ambulance (62% vs. 66%, p < 0.001), with younger women least likely to use ambulance services (61%) and older women most likely (68%). Median stroke onset to hospital arrival times were 7 h for older patients and younger men, but 9 h in younger women. There has been no improvement among young women in ambulance utilization since 2003, whereas ambulance use increased in all other groups.

Younger adults, especially younger women, are less likely to use ambulance services, take longer to get to hospital, and have not improved in utilization of emergency services for stroke over 13 years. Targeted public health messaging is required to ensure younger adults seek emergency stroke care.