David FE Stuhlmiller, MD¹, Yu-Feng Chan, MD¹, Hosseinali Shahidi, MD¹, Shreni Zinzuwadia¹, Anthony Rosania, MS¹, Adnan I. Qureshi, MD², Adnan Safdar, MD², Jawad F. Kirmani, MD², Muhammed A. Sayed, MD³, Shafiuddin Ahmed, MD², and Ronald Low, MD¹. (1) Division of Emergency Medicine/ Department of Surgery, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey - New Jersey Medical School, 150 Bergen Street, Room M219, Newark, NJ 07103, 973-972-5128, stuhlmdf@umdnj.edu, (2) Department of Neurology and Neurosciences, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey - New Jersey Medical School, 90 Bergen Street, DOC - 8100, Newark, NJ 07103, (3) Department of Neurosurgery, State University of New York at Buffalo, 3 Gates Circle, Buffalo, NY 14209

Objective: To relate the incidence of AICE to environmental factors and time. Methods: In this population-based study, we identified all patients suffering AICE (transient ischemic attack or acute ischemic stroke) using discharge ICD-9 codes from 27 hospitals in the greater Buffalo, NY metropolitan area over one year from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2000. Study investigators confirmed the diagnosis by reviewing individual medical records. We obtained temperature and precipitation data from the National Weather Service. Data were analyzed with Chi squared tests and linear regression using SAS9. Results: We analyzed 2,462 patients with AICE during the study period. The highest, lowest and median temperatures were 26, -16 and 10 degrees Celsius, respectively. Bivariate analysis shows a statistically significant increase in AICE as temperature rises (p=0.0033) and an increase in AICE on weekdays compared to weekend days (p=0.0016). Multivariate linear regression shows an increase of 0.4 events per day with each increase in temperature of 10 degrees Celsius (p=0.0037) and 0.9 fewer events per day on weekends (p=0.0029). We found no statistically significant relationship between the incidence of AICE and precipitation. Conclusions: As temperature rises, the incidence of AICE increases significantly in the study population. There is a significant increase in the number of AICE patients admitted on weekdays as compared to weekends in the study area.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this poster or presentation the learner should be able to

• Describe the relationship between weather and the incidence of acute ischemic cerebrovascular events (AICE).
• Describe the relationship between the day of the week and the incidence of acute ischemic cerebrovascular events (AICE).

Keywords: Strokes, Environment

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.