Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Functional Outcome after Thrombectomy: A Cohort Study of an Integrated Stroke Network.

Objectives Previous studies have shown racial disparities in access to treatment and outcomes in ischemic stroke patients. We sought to define racial disparities in functional outcomes among ischemic stroke patients receiving endovascular thrombectomy (EVT). Materials and methods We performed a retrospective review of patients in our institution's prospectively collected stroke patient registry from 08/2015 to 06/2019 at 1 comprehensive and 2 thrombectomy-ready stroke centers. We reviewed patients aged ≥ 18 who received mechanical thrombectomy including only patients with race/ethnicity data belonging to the 3 largest race/ethnic groups: Non-Hispanic White (NHW), Non-Hispanic Black (NHB), and Hispanic (HIS). We compared baseline characteristics and performed multivariable logistic regression to evaluate differences in good functional outcome defined as 90-day modified Rankin score (90 day mRS 0-2) as the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes were discharge disposition, length of stay, and excellent functional outcome (90 day mRS 0-1). Results are given as OR [95% CI]. Results Among 666 patients that met inclusion criteria, 45% were NHW, 30% were NHB, and 19% were HIS. NHB and HIS patients were younger than NHW (average age NHB 62; HIS 64; and NHW 70; p Conclusions In this study of over 600 patients treated with EVT, we did not find significant racial disparities in functional outcome except for less excellent functional outcome in HIS compared to NHW. Further study on disparities in post-acute stroke care is needed.