Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
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The prospective trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of intravenous tissue plasminogen activator have generally been conducted at academic medical centers and community hospitals with an institutional commitment to stroke care. Relatively little is known about the safety of this therapy as it is used in the community. We therefore examined outcomes in acute stroke patients treated with thrombolysis using the largest discharge database available in the United States for the years 1999 to 2002. ⋯ Thrombolysis, as it is used in the community, has a safety profile that is similar to that observed in the large, prospective clinical trials.