Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) strives to provide the highest quality stroke care using national standard performance measures. This report shows how DHMC ranks in stroke care compared to all New England medical centers.
Performance data from January to December 2023
The national benchmark goal is ≥85%.
| Performance measure | DHMC | New England medical centers |
|---|---|---|
Discharged on anti-thrombotic therapyPercent of patients discharged on a blood thinner to prevent another ischemic stroke. |
99.2% | 99.5% |
Anti-coagulation for atrial fibrillation/flutterPercent of patients treated with a blood thinner at discharge when they have an abnormal heart rhythm that could cause blood clots. |
98.0% | 97.4% |
Thrombolytic therapyPercent of patients who arrive to the hospital within 2 hours of stroke symptoms and treated with a clot busting medication within 3 hours of symptom onset. |
100% | 88.3% |
Anti-thrombotics by hospital day #2Percent of patients treated with a blood thinner within 2 days after admission to prevent further ischemic strokes. |
94% | 96.4% |
Discharged on a statin medicationPercent of patients treated with a cholesterol-lowering drug to reduce ischemic stroke risk. |
97.6% | 94.2% |
Stroke educationPercent of patients provided stroke specific education (i.e., signs/symptoms, risk factors, how to call 911…) throughout their hospitalization. |
86.5% | 93.6% |
Assessed for rehabilitationPercent of patients who have been evaluated by a member of the rehabilitation team to assess needs for recovery therapy. |
97.5% | 98.5% |
This information is based on data retrieved from Outcomes Science Get With the Guidelines® data.
DHMC stroke outcomes report 2023
DHMC's Stroke Program monitors outcomes for all ischemic stroke patients who have emergent neuro-interventions.
In 2023, DHMC performed 83 emergent thrombectomy procedures. This procedure attempts to remove the clot from a major blood vessel in the brain.
| Performance measure | DHMC | New England medical centers |
|---|---|---|
TICI** reperfusion grade of 2B or higherPercent of ischemic stroke patients who had meaningful improvement of blood flow to their brain after undergoing a mechanical embolectomy (a surgical procedure to remove the blood clot from the brain). |
98.1% | 85.8% |
Hemorrhagic transformation after IV AlteplasePercent of ischemic stroke patients who develop significant bleeding in the brain within 36 hours after receiving a clot-busting medication. The lower the percentage, the better. |
0% | 1.3% |
Hemorrhagic transformation after IA (intra-arterial) Alteplase (tPA) or ThrombectomyPercent of ischemic stroke patients who develop significant bleeding in the brain within 36 hours after undergoing a surgical procedure to remove a blood clot from the brain. The lower the percentage, the better. |
1.6% | 6.3% |
| ** TICI = "Thrombolysis In Cerebral Infarction." TICI is a grading system used to describe the return of blood flow to the brain, in response to a Thrombectomy procedure. Grade 2b or higher is the goal. | ||
Arrival to skin puncture (procedure start)Median time from hospital arrival to the time of skin puncture to access the artery for a thrombectomy procedure. Goals:
|
OSH to DHMC (60 min goal)36 min Direct to DHMC109 min* All cases68 min* *This includes patients who have a stroke after admission |
OSH to all New England hospitals32min Direct to all New England hospitals94 min All cases68 min |
This information is based on data retrieved from Outcomes Science Get With the Guidelines® data.
**Thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (TICI) scale is a score used to grade brain tissue revascularization.