Delays at any stage of the care pathway have a major impact
on the proportion of patients that receive thrombolysis.5–7
Previous studies indicate that between 2% and 8% of patients
receive thrombolysis.8–11 Although efforts have been made to
expedite the acute stroke care pathway,6,12 it is unclear what
effect these strategies have on patient outcomes or whether
they are cost-effective.
The majority of economic evaluations of thrombolysis for
acute stroke performed previously have focused on its use
compared with conservative treatment (no thrombolysis).13–15
The aim of this study was to estimate the cost-effectiveness
and potential implementation costs of a series of interventions