Linggui Zhugan Decoction for peripheral vertigo

Background:Previous studies describe significant rates of misdiagnosis of stroke, seizure and other neurological problems, but there are few studies examining diagnostic accuracy of all emergency referrals to a neurology service. This information could be useful in focusing the neurological education of physicians who assess and refer patients with neurological complaints in emergency departments.Methods:All neurological consultations in the emergency department at a tertiary-care teaching hospital were recorded for six months. The initial diagnosis of the requesting physician was recorded for each patient. This was compared to the initial diagnosis of the consulting neurologist and to the final diagnosis, as determined by retrospective chart review.Results:Over a six-month period, 493 neurological consultations were requested. The initial diagnosis of the requesting physician agreed with the final diagnosis in 60.4% (298/493) of cases, and disagreed or was uncertain in 35.7% of cases (19.1% and 16.6% respectively). In 3.9% of cases, the initial diagnosis of both the referring physician and the neurologist disagreed with the final diagnosis. Common misdiagnoses included neurocardiogenic syncope, peripheral vertigo, primary headache and psychogenic syndromes. Often, these were initially diagnosed as stroke or seizure.Conclusions:Our data indicate that misdiagnosis or diagnostic uncertainty occurred in over one-third of all neurological consultations in the emergency department setting. Benign neurological conditions, such as migraine, syncope and peripheral vertigo are frequently mislabeled as seizure or stroke. Educational strategies that emphasize emergent evaluation of these common conditions could improve diagnostic accuracy, and may result in better patient care.

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Abstract P187: When A Global Crisis Closes Your Clinic: A Telemedicine Approach for Transient Ischemic Attack and Minor Stroke Care During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Stroke ◽

10.1161/str.52.suppl_1.p187 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 52 (Suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Rachelle Dugue ◽

Joshua Z Willey ◽

Eliza C Miller ◽

Ian M Kronish ◽

Bernard P Chang

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Secondary Prevention ◽

Retrospective Chart Review ◽

Stroke Care ◽

Medical Intervention ◽

Minor Stroke ◽

Ischemic Attack ◽

Peripheral Vertigo ◽

Patient Infection

Introduction: Recent work has demonstrated the safety and feasibility of rapid outpatient evaluation for presentations of TIA and non-disabling stroke. Our outpatient TIA and stroke clinic, Rapid Access Vascular Evaluation-Neurology (RAVEN) clinic, instituted in 2016, encountered unprecedented challenges in operations during the COVID-19 surge in New York City, leading to the creation of a telemedicine approach to minimize patient and staff exposure risk. To date, few virtual TIA/stroke clinics have reported on safety and feasibility outcomes. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that rapid follow-up of patients with suspected TIA and minor stroke via telemedicine would be feasible and safe during the pandemic. Methods/Results: We performed a retrospective chart review of patients with TIA and minor stroke who were referred to the virtual clinic from the emergency department (ED) between March and June 2020 (the local peak of the COVID-19 pandemic) when RAVEN in-person visits were suspended. A total of 24 patients were discharged early from the ED and referred for RAVEN evaluation with 20 patients evaluated as scheduled; 4 were lost to RAVEN follow-up. Ultimately, 60% of these patients were diagnosed with TIA or minor stroke after completing their remote evaluation; the rest were diagnosed as stroke mimics (seizure, migraine with aura, neuropathy, peripheral vertigo, stroke recrudescence). The median NIHSS calculated at initial ED evaluation was 1 with a maximum NIHSS of 5. A new medical intervention for secondary prevention was prescribed for 70% of patients prior to ED discharge. Amongst patients contacted by phone 3-5 months post-RAVEN evaluation, 4 of 15 had an increased modified Rankin score. Of the 24 patients referred for RAVEN evaluation, 7 returned to the ED within 90 days, with 3 patients citing neurologic complaints. On follow-up via phone conducted 2-5 months after RAVEN evaluation, 3 of 17 patients self-reported either a positive COVID-19 test or suspected COVID-19 diagnosis over the study period. Conclusion: A telemedicine-based approach to evaluate TIA and stroke in the RAVEN model helped limit patient infection risk, optimize resource allocation, establish accurate, timely diagnoses, and effectively implement secondary prevention strategies.

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