Abstract Background and aims Equity in healthcare is mandated by Swedish law and includes people with and without Swedish identification number (S-ID). Little is known about stroke care among non-Swedish residents. This study aims to investigate stroke care for non-Swedish residents. Methods Patients with Ischemic stroke (IS), Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and TIA registered in the local register Väststroke during 2014-2019 were included. Data were retrieved from Swedish stroke registers Väststroke, Riksstroke and complemented with data from patient charts. Descriptive analyses and group comparisons between people with S-ID (n=8297) and without (n=88) were performed using Pearson’s chi-square, Fisher’s exact, and Mann–Whitney U tests. Adjusted associations between resident status and length of hospital stay were explored using linear regression. Adjusted factors were sex, age, medications, follow-up plan, stroke severity, and reperfusion. Results Among patients without S-ID, 72 had IS, 6 had ICH, and 10 had TIA. They were younger, had more severe strokes (p=0.008 for ICH and p=0.035 for IS), and received fewer assessments (swallowing), treatments (antihypertensives), and follow-up plans. In adjusted analysis individuals without S-ID had shorter hospital stays by 43.4% (95% CI 32.5-52.6) for IS, 62.7% (34.3-78.8) for ICH, and 26% (8.1-40.4) for TIA. Older age and stroke severity were factors associated with longer hospital stays. Conclusions People without S-ID were younger and presented with more severe strokes than Swedish residents. They received reperfusion, assessments and treatments but at lower proportions than registered residents with S-ID. Stroke care needs to be accessible to all people visiting and residing in Sweden. Conflict of interest Malin Reinhodsson: nothing to disclose. Anastasios Mavridis: nothing to disclose. Katharina S Sunnerhagen: nothing to disclose.
Reinholdsson et al. (Fri,) studied this question.