Pana TA, Quinn J, Mohamed MO, et al. - An independent association of renal dysfunction with worse in-hospital outcomes was observed in the acute phase of acute ischaemic stroke (AIS). Thrombolysis, when given as an emergency treatment for AIS, did not impact these links. Thus, chronic kidney disease (CKD)/end-stage renal disease (ESRD) should not be sole contraindications to thrombolysis for AIS.

• The US National Inpatient Sample (2005–2015) was used to find 885,537 records representative of 4,283,086 AIS admissions.

• Participants were assigned to no CKD, CKD without ESRD and ESRD groups.

• Significantly elevated odds of in-hospital mortality were observed in both CKD/no ESRD groups vs no CKD group.

• Higher odds of prolonged hospitalisation and higher odds of moderate-to-severe disability on discharge were seen in patients with CKD/No ESRD and ESRD.