Stroke management in a university hospital in the largest South American city.

OBJECTIVE To describe characteristics and provision of care for patients admitted with cerebrovascular disorders (CVD), focusing on ischemic stroke (IS), in a large, public, academic hospital in São Paulo, Brazil. METHOD We retrieved information about 357 patients with CVD admitted to the Neurology Emergency Department (NED) and Neurology Ward (NW) of our institution. We described patient characteristics and management of IS in NED and in NW. RESULTS IS was diagnosed in 79.6% of CVD patients admitted to NED; 2.7% were submitted to thrombolysis. Extent of IS investigation and management were significantly different in NED and NW. CONCLUSION IS patients in our center were younger than in developed countries. IS management was significantly influenced by patient characteristics. This information can aid in planning strategies to decrease stroke burden.