PLAT and Stroke: IV r-tPA when used within three hours of stroke onset in select patients with acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) is the only US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved thrombolytic treatment for stroke.7 South African guidelines recommend it should be administered at a hospital where rapid triage of stroke patients is possible, with established protocols for the use of r-tPA and where good post-treatment care is available.4