Background and aims: The Quality of stroke care in India is unknown. This multicentric study from the Indian RES-Q (REgistry of Stroke care Quality) provides prospectively entered stroke data from 46 stroke centres across the country. We analysed demographics, therapeutic interventions, quality metrics, and functional outcomes of ischemic stroke from India. Methods: It was an analysis of prospectively entered data into the RES-Q from 2022-2024. The inclusion criteria were patients ≥ 18 years of age with an acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack based on the AHA/ ASA 2019 criteria within 2 weeks of stroke onset. All demographic, clinical, and radiological details were entered into a pre-designed proforma. All quality and performance measures in the hospital were collected. Results: Approximately 80% of all strokes (n=7,337) during the study period were ischemic. The median age was 61 years (IQR 52-71), with 67% being male. The median NIHSS at admission was 7 (IQR 4-12). Brain parenchymal imaging was done for all patients, but vascular imaging was performed for 60% of patients only. The thrombolysis rate was 32% with a median door to needle time of 37 minutes. Endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) was performed in 6.5% cases. Swallowing assessment was done in 72% patients within 24 hours of admission and 90% received physiotherapy in the stroke unit. Conclusion: This landmark dataset marks the first comprehensive nationwide effort to assess stroke care quality in India. Routine quality monitoring through platforms like RES-Q can help standardize care, reduce disparities, and enable hospitals to benchmark performance and implement targeted improvements.
Sylaja et al. (Fri,) studied this question.