The influence of primary language on postoperative stroke outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Language barriers have the potential to influence acute stroke outcomes. Thus, we examined postoperative stroke outcomes among non-English primary language speakers.

METHODS: Utilizing the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Database (2016-2019), we conducted a retrospective cohort study of adults diagnosed with a postoperative stroke in Michigan, Maryland, and New Jersey. Patients were classified by primary language spoken: English (EPL) or non-English (n-EPL). The primary outcome was hospital length-of-stay. Secondary outcomes included stroke intervention, feeding tube, tracheostomy, mortality, cost, disposition, and readmission. Propensity-score matching and post-match regression were used to quantify outcomes.

RESULTS: Among 3078 postoperative stroke patients, 6.2 ​% were n-EPL. There were no differences in length-of-stay or secondary outcomes, except for higher odds of feeding tube placement (OR 1.95, 95 ​% CI 1.10-3.47, p ​= ​0.0227) in n-EPL.

CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative stroke outcomes were comparable by primary language spoken. However, higher odds of feeding tube placement in n-EPL may suggest differences in patient-provider communication.