Abstract
Background: Stroke remains a major global health concern, particularly in developing countries. Improving patient outcomes requires early hospital admission, especially within the first 4.5-hour therapeutic window.
Objectives: To determine the proportion of delayed hospital admission among patients with acute stroke and to identify associated factors at the Central Highlands General Hospital in 2023.
Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 222 patients aged ≥18 years with acute stroke who were treated at the Central Highlands General Hospital and met the inclusion criteria. Delayed admission was defined as a time from symptom onset to hospital arrival of >4.5 hours. Data were entered using Epidata 3.1 and analyzed with STATA 15.1. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify associated factors.
Results: The proportion of delayed hospital admission was 66.7%. In univariate analysis, factors associated with delayed admission included non-Kinh ethnicity, rural residence, not seeking immediate hospital care, initial healthcare contact at a commune health station/other facilities, distance from onset location to hospital ≥10 km, and inadequate awareness of stroke warning signs. In multivariate analysis, independent factors associated with delayed admission were failure to seek immediate hospital care, initial healthcare contact (commune health station/other facilities), and inadequate awareness of stroke warning signs.
Conclusions: The proportion of delayed hospital admission among patients with acute stroke at the Central Highlands General Hospital remains high. The associated factors are mainly related to the prehospital phase and are largely modifiable, particularly initial response behavior, first point of healthcare contact, and awareness of stroke warning signs.