Background/objectives: The aim of this study was to survey acute in-hospital stroke services in seven Italian regions.
Methods: Regional hospital discharge registers were searched to identify hospital services that record at least 50 acute stroke discharges per year and the doctors in charge of these services were interviewed.
Results: Only 31 (7%) out of 447 services could be classified as stroke units (SUs). Of these, only 9 (29%) were found to have vital function monitoring systems available for all patients. The most striking differences between SUs and mixed stroke services emerged when comparing staff/patient ratios in the two types of unit.
Conclusions: There are still not enough SUs in Italy, and fewer than 10% of stroke patients can be admitted to such units.
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