Knowledge and Attitudes of Saudi Emergency Physicians toward t-PA Use in Stroke

Table 3

The frequency, odds ratio, and adjusted odds ratios of emergency physicians who recommended use of t-PA in stroke.

Characteristics	Frequency %	Odds Ratio; (95% CI) †	Adjusted Odds Ratio (95% CI) ‡
Total	54.1
Age, y
< 30	64.7	2.1; (1.01- 4.4)	2.7; (0.8 – 9.5)
≥ 30	46.4
Gender
Male	56.2	1.5; (0.6 – 3.5)	0.46; (0.12 – 1.2)
Female	46.1
Nationality
Saudis	54.3	1.1; (0.28 – 5.0)	1.02; (0.18 – 5.6)
Non-Saudis	50.0
Years of experience, y
< 10	54.2	0.96; (0.32 – 2.8)	1.12; 0.29 – 4.3)
≥ 10	53.3
Working in hospital designated as stroke center
Yes	60.0	1.3; (0.43 – 3.95)	0.60; (0.17 – 2.10)
No	53.2
Board certification in emergency medicine
Yes	47.5	0.58; (0.28 – 1.20)	1.39; (0.40 – 4.81)
No	60.6
Job Rank
Consultant	52.2	0.89; (0.42 – 1.87)	0.51; (0.15 – 1.75)
Others	55.1
Country of training
Saudi Arabia	50.0	0.70; (0.34 – 1.44)	0.84; (0.31 – 2.25)
Others	58.6
Level of knowledge about t-PA in stroke up to 4.5 hours of onset
Well updated about recent literature and guidelines	42.8	0.49; (0.22 – 0.97)	1.8; (0.84 – 4.22)
General but acceptable or poor knowledge	61.6

Percentage of emergency physicians who responded “yes” for the question, “Do you recommend t-PA in acute ischemic stroke within 4.5 hours of onset for eligible patients?”
†Estimated by Mantel-Haenszel method.
‡Results of multiple logistic regression with emergency physicians recommending t-PA use as the dependent variable and age, gender, nationality, years of experience, working in hospital with stroke center, board certification, job rank, country of training, and level of knowledge about t-PA in stroke as independent variables.