scholarly journals The Maryland Acute Stroke Emergency Medical Services Routing Pilot: Expediting Access to Thrombectomy for Stroke

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taylor Haight ◽  
Burton Tabaac ◽  
Kelly-Ann Patrice ◽  
Michael S. Phipps ◽  
Jaime Butler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Acute Stroke ◽  
Acute Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Large Vessel ◽  
Large Vessel Occlusion ◽  
Stroke Patients ◽  
Vessel Occlusion ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Suspected Stroke

Background: Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is the standard of care for acute ischemic stroke caused by large vessel occlusion, but is not available at all stroke centers. Transfers between hospitals lead to treatment delays. Transport directly to a facility capable of MT based on a prehospital stroke severity scale score has been recommended, if transportation time is less than 30 min.Aims: We hypothesized that an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) routing algorithm for stroke, using the Los Angeles Motor Scale (LAMS) in the field, would improve time from last known well to MT, without causing patients to miss the IV Thrombolysis (IVT) window.Methods: An EMS algorithm in the Baltimore metro area using the LAMS was implemented. Patients suspected of having an acute stroke were assessed by EMS using the LAMS. Patients scoring 4 or higher and within 20 h from last known well, were transported directly to a Thrombectomy Center, if transport could be completed within 30 min. The algorithm was evaluated retrospectively with prospectively collected data at the Thrombectomy Centers. The primary outcome variables were proportion of patients with suspected stroke rerouted by EMS, proportion of rerouted ischemic stroke patients receiving MT, time to treatment, and whether the IVT window was missed.Results: A total of 303 patients were rerouted out of 2459 suspected stroke patients over a period of 6 months. Of diverted patients, 47% had acute ischemic stroke. Of these, 48% received an acute stroke treatment: 16.8% IVT, 17.5% MT, and 14% MT+IVT. Thrombectomy occurred 119 min earlier in diverted patients compared to patients transferred from other hospitals (P = 0.006). 55.3% of diverted patients undergoing MT and 38.2% of patients transferred from hospital to hospital were independent at 90 days (modified Rankin score 0–2) (P = 0.148). No patient missed the time window for IVT due to the extra travel time.Conclusions: In this retrospective analysis of prospectively acquired data, implementation of a pre-hospital clinical screening score to detect patients with suspected acute ischemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion was feasible. Rerouting patients directly to a Thrombectomy Center, based on the EMS algorithm, led to a shorter time to thrombectomy.

scholarly journals Emergency medical dispatchers’ ability to identify large vessel occlusion stroke during emergency calls

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauli E. T. Vuorinen ◽  
Jyrki P. J. Ollikainen ◽  
Pasi A. Ketola ◽  
Riikka-Liisa K. Vuorinen ◽  
Piritta A. Setälä ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Acute Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Large Vessel ◽  
Emergency Call ◽  
Large Vessel Occlusion ◽  
Vessel Occlusion ◽  
Emergency Response System ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Cortical Ischemia

Abstract Background In acute ischemic stroke, conjugated eye deviation (CED) is an evident sign of cortical ischemia and large vessel occlusion (LVO). We aimed to determine if an emergency dispatcher can recognise LVO stroke during an emergency call by asking the caller a binary question regarding whether the patient’s head or gaze is away from the side of the hemiparesis or not. Further, we investigated if the paramedics can confirm this sign at the scene. In the group of positive CED answers to the emergency dispatcher, we investigated what diagnoses these patients received at the emergency department (ED). Among all patients brought to ED and subsequently treated with mechanical thrombectomy (MT) we tracked the proportion of patients with a positive CED answer during the emergency call. Methods We collected data on all stroke dispatches in the city of Tampere, Finland, from 13 February 2019 to 31 October 2020. We then reviewed all patient records from cases where the dispatcher had marked ‘yes’ to the question regarding patient CED in the computer-aided emergency response system. We also viewed all emergency department admissions to see how many patients in total were treated with MT during the period studied. Results Out of 1913 dispatches, we found 81 cases (4%) in which the caller had verified CED during the emergency call. Twenty-four of these patients were diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke. Paramedics confirmed CED in only 9 (11%) of these 81 patients. Two patients with positive CED answers during the emergency call and 19 other patients brought to the emergency department were treated with MT. Conclusion A small minority of stroke dispatches include a positive answer to the CED question but paramedics rarely confirm the emergency medical dispatcher’s suspicion of CED as a sign of LVO. Few patients in need of MT can be found this way. Stroke dispatch protocol with a CED question needs intensive implementation.

scholarly journals Performance of angiographic parametric imaging in locating infarct core in large vessel occlusion acute ischemic stroke patients

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (01) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Ryan A. Rava ◽  
Maxim Mokin ◽  
Kenneth V. Snyder ◽  
Muhammad Waqas ◽  
Adnan H. Siddiqui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Acute Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Large Vessel ◽  
Parametric Imaging ◽  
Large Vessel Occlusion ◽  
Stroke Patients ◽  
Infarct Core ◽  
Vessel Occlusion

Prestroke Disability and Outcome After Thrombectomy for Emergent Anterior Circulation Large Vessel Occlusion Stroke

Neurology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 10.1212/WNL.0000000000012827
Author(s):  
Adam de Havenon ◽  
Alicia Castonguay ◽  
Raul Nogueira ◽  
Thanh N. Nguyen ◽  
Joey English ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Acute Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Odds Ratio ◽  
Adjusted Odds Ratio ◽  
Primary Outcome ◽  
Large Vessel ◽  
Large Vessel Occlusion ◽  
Stroke Patients ◽  
Anterior Circulation ◽  
Vessel Occlusion

ObjectiveTo determine the impact of endovascular therapy for large vessel occlusion stroke in patients with pre-morbid disability versus those without.MethodsWe performed a post-hoc analysis of the TREVO Stent-Retriever Acute Stroke (TRACK) Registry, which collected data on 634 consecutive stroke patients treated with the Trevo device as first-line EVT at 23 centers in the United States. We included patients with internal carotid or middle cerebral (M1/M2 segment) artery occlusions and the study exposure was patient- or caregiver-reported premorbid modified Rank Scale (mRS) ≥2 (premorbid disability, PD) versus premorbid mRS score 0-1 (no premorbid disability, NPD). The primary outcome was no accumulated disability, defined as no increase in 90-day mRS from the patient’s pre-morbid mRS.ResultsOf the 634 patients in TRACK, 407 patients were included in our cohort, of which 53/407 (13.0%) had PD. The primary outcome of no accumulated disability was achieved in 37.7% (20/53) of patients with PD and 16.7% (59/354) of patients with NPD (p<0.001), while death occurred in 39.6% (21/53) and 14.1% (50/354) (p<0.001), respectively. The adjusted odds ratio of no accumulated disability for PD patients was 5.2 (95% CI 2.4-11.4, p<0.001) compared to patients with NPD. However, the adjusted odds ratio for death in PD patients was 2.90 (95% CI 1.38-6.09, p=0.005).ConclusionsIn this study of anterior circulation acute ischemic stroke patients treated with EVT, we found that premorbid disability was associated with a higher probability of not accumulating further disability compared to patients with no premorbid disability, but also with higher probability of death.Classification of EvidenceThis study provides Class II evidence that in anterior circulation acute ischemic stroke treated with EVT, patients with premorbid disability compared to those without disability were more likely not to accumulate more disability but were more likely to die.


scholarly journals Teaching Impact on Telestroke Nurse Recognition of Large Vessel Occlusion Computerized Tomography Perfusion Patterns

Stroke ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 1879-1882
Author(s):  
Laura Williams ◽  
Maria Helms ◽  
Emily K. Snider ◽  
Brenda Chang ◽  
Sam Singh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Acute Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Computerized Tomography ◽  
Good Accuracy ◽  
Internal Carotid ◽  
Large Vessel ◽  
Large Vessel Occlusion ◽  
Stroke Patients ◽  
Vessel Occlusion ◽  
The Impact

Background and Purpose— A distinguishing feature of our Stroke Network is telestroke nurses who remotely facilitate evaluations. To enable expeditious transfer of large vessel occlusion (LVO) acute ischemic stroke patients presenting to nonthrombectomy centers, the telestroke nurses must immediately identify color thresholded computerized tomography perfusion (CTP) patterns consistent with internal carotid artery (ICA), middle cerebral artery (MCA) segment 1(M1), and MCA segment 2 (M2) LVO acute ischemic stroke. Methods— We developed a 6-month series of tutorials and tests for 16 telestroke nurses, focusing on CTP pattern recognition consistent with ICA, M1, or M2 LVO acute ischemic stroke. We simultaneously conducted a prospective cohort study to evaluate the impact of this intervention. Results— Telestroke nurses demonstrated good accuracy in detecting ICA, M1, or M2 LVO during the first 3 months of teaching (83%–94% accurate). This significantly improved during the last 3 months (99%–100%), during which the likelihood of correctly identifying the presence of any one of these LVOs exceeded that of the first 3 months ( P <0.001). There was a higher probability of correctly identifying any CTP pattern as consistent with either an ICA, M1, or M2 occlusion versus other types of occlusions or nonocclusions (odds ratio, 5.22 [95% CI, 3.2–8.5]). Over time, confidence for recognizing CTP patterns consistent with an ICA, M1, or M2 LVO did not differ significantly. Conclusions— A series of tutorials and tests significantly increased the likelihood of telestroke nurses correctly identifying CTP patterns consistent with ICA, M1, or M2 LVOs, with the benefit of these tutorials and test reviews peaking and plateauing at 4 months.

scholarly journals Mechanical thrombectomy techniques for acute ischemic stroke

2020 ◽  
pp. 46-51
Author(s):  
A. Chiriac ◽  
Georgiana Ion ◽  
N. Dobrin ◽  
Dana Turliuc ◽  
I. Poeata
Keyword(s):  
Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Acute Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Mechanical Thrombectomy ◽  
Large Vessel ◽  
Large Vessel Occlusion ◽  
Stroke Patients ◽  
Vessel Occlusion ◽  
Current Trends

Mechanical thrombectomy technique was introduced as an effective and secure method in acute ischemic stroke patients suffering from intracranial large vessel occlusion (LVO). In this article, we will review the main mechanical thrombectomy techniques and current trends in this type of treatment for acute ischemic stroke.

scholarly journals Mortality Risk in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients With Large Vessel Occlusion Treated With Mechanical Thrombectomy

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (21) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aristeidis H. Katsanos ◽  
Konark Malhotra ◽  
Nitin Goyal ◽  
Lina Palaiodimou ◽  
Peter D. Schellinger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Acute Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Mortality Risk ◽  
Mechanical Thrombectomy ◽  
Large Vessel ◽  
Large Vessel Occlusion ◽  
Stroke Patients ◽  
Vessel Occlusion
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document