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Abstract
Background: In this feasibility study, we tested whether prehospital diagnostic stroke workup enables rational decision-making regarding treatment and the target hospital in persons with suspected stroke.
Methods: A mobile stroke unit that delivers imaging (including multimodal brain imaging with CT angiography and CT perfusion), point-of-care-laboratory analysis, and neurologic expertise directly at the emergency site was analyzed for its use in prehospital diagnosis-based triage of suspected stroke patients.
Results: We present 4 complementary cases with suspected stroke who underwent prehospital diagnostic workup that enabled direct diagnosis-based treatment decisions and reliable triage regarding the most appropriate medical facility for that individual, e.g., a primary hospital vs specialized centers of a tertiary hospital.
Conclusions: This preliminary report demonstrates the feasibility of prehospital diagnostic stroke workup for immediate etiology-specific decision-making regarding the necessary time-sensitive stroke treatment and the most appropriate target hospital.
GLOSSARY
- MSU=
- mobile stroke unit;
- NIHSS=
- NIH Stroke Scale
Footnotes
Study funding: Funded by grants from the Ministry of Health of the Saarland, Germany; Jackstädt-Foundation, Germany; Else Kröner-Fresenius Foundation, Germany; Saarland Emergency Service, Germany; and German Red Cross, Saarland, Germany.
Editorial, page 1809
- Received June 16, 2011.
- Accepted September 13, 2011.
- Copyright © 2012 by AAN Enterprises, Inc.
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