Pharmacists' Impact on Secondary Stroke Prevention.

BACKGROUND

Patients admitted to our institution with a cerebrovascular accident (stroke) or transient ischemic attack (TIA) are referred to the pharmacist-run stroke prevention clinic (SPC) for medication and risk factor management.

OBJECTIVE

The objective was to determine if patients receiving care from the SPC have better outcomes than patients who received usual care.

METHODS

This was a retrospective chart review of patients referred to the SPC. At the time of stroke/TIA, before initial visit, and after last SPC visit, risk factor data was collected. Hospital readmissions were reviewed for secondary stroke/TIA, myocardial infarction (MI), and new or incidental peripheral artery disease (PAD). For patients that did not attend SPC visits, data was used as a control.

RESULTS

Patients referred to the SPC from October 2012 to December 2014 were reviewed. 455 records were reviewed. The primary composite end point of readmission for stroke/TIA, myocardial infarction, and new or incidental PAD was statistically significantly lower in the SPC group than the control group (P = .013). All surrogate markers, including blood pressure, Low Density Lipoprotein, Hemoglobin A1c, and smoking status, improved in the SPC group.

CONCLUSION

Pharmacists can play a role in reducing risk factors for secondary stroke/TIA and prevent future hospital admissions.