Homeostasis as Basis of Acute Stroke Treatment: Stroke Units Are the Key

2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Díez-Tejedor ◽  
B. Fuentes
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Anna Alegiani ◽  
Michael Rosenkranz ◽  
Leonie Schmitz ◽  
Susanne Lezius ◽  
Günter Seidel ◽  
...  

<b><i>Background and Purpose:</i></b> Rapid access to acute stroke treatment improves clinical outcomes in patients with ischemic stroke. We aimed to shorten the time to admission and to acute stroke treatment for patients with acute stroke in the Hamburg metropolitan area by collaborative multilevel measures involving all hospitals with stroke units, the Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and health-care authorities. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> In 2007, an area-wide stroke care quality project was initiated. The project included mandatory admission of all stroke patients in Hamburg exclusively to hospitals with stroke units, harmonized acute treatment algorithms among all hospitals, repeated training of the EMS staff, a multimedia educational campaign, and a mandatory stroke care quality monitoring system based on structured data assessment and quality indicators for procedural measures. We analyzed data of all patients with acute stroke who received inhospital treatment in the city of Hamburg during the evaluation period from the quality assurance database data and evaluated trends of key quality indicators over time. <b><i>Results:</i></b> From 2007 to 2016, a total of 83,395 patients with acute stroke were registered. During this period, the proportion of patients admitted within ≤3 h from symptom onset increased over time from 27.8% in 2007 to 35.2% in 2016 (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). The proportion of patients who received rapid thrombolysis (within ≤30 min after admission) increased from 7.7 to 54.1% (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Collaborative stroke care quality projects are suitable and effective to improve acute stroke care.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 2514183X2199923
Author(s):  
Georg Kägi ◽  
David Schurter ◽  
Julien Niederhäuser ◽  
Gian Marco De Marchis ◽  
Stefan Engelter ◽  
...  

Acute stroke treatment has advanced substantially over the last years. Important milestones constitute intravenous thrombolysis, endovascular therapy (EVT), and treatment of stroke patients in dedicated units (stroke units). At present in Switzerland there are 13 certified stroke units and 10 certified EVT-capable stroke centers. Emerging challenges for the prehospital pathways are that (i) acute stroke treatment remains very time sensitive, (ii) the time window for acute stroke treatment has opened up to 24 h in selected cases, and (iii) EVT is only available in stroke centers. The goal of the current guideline is to standardize the prehospital phase of patients with acute stroke for them to receive the optimal treatment without unnecessary delays. Different prehospital models exist. For patients with large vessel occlusion (LVO), the Drip and Ship model is the most commonly used in Switzerland. This model is challenged by the Mothership model where stroke patients with suspected LVO are directly transferred to the stroke center. This latter model is only effective if there is an accurate triage by paramedics, hence the patient may benefit from the right treatment in the right place, without loss of time. Although the Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale is a well-established scale to detect acute stroke in the prehospital setting, it neglects nonmotor symptoms like visual impairment or severe vertigo. Therefore we suggest “acute occurrence of a focal neurological deficit” as the trigger to enter the acute stroke pathway. For the triage whether a patient has a LVO (yes/no), there are a number of scores published. Accuracy of these scores is borderline. Nevertheless, applying the Rapid Arterial Occlusion Evaluation score or a comparable score to recognize patients with LVO may help to speed up and triage prehospital pathways. Ultimately, the decision of which model to use in which stroke network will depend on local (e.g. geographical) characteristics.


Stroke ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 32 (12) ◽  
pp. 2836-2840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet L. Wilterdink ◽  
Birgitte Bendixen ◽  
Harold P. Adams ◽  
Robert F. Woolson ◽  
William R. Clarke ◽  
...  

Stroke ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
James F Burke ◽  
Lesli E Skolarus ◽  
Eric E Adelman ◽  
Phillip A Scott ◽  
William J Meurer

Objective: Regionalization of stroke care has occurred sporadically across the U.S, so determining realistic goal treatment rates for individual regions or the nation as a whole is challenging. Studies of a single hospital or region vary widely in estimates of eligibility for acute therapy and may have limited generalizability or biases. We hypothesized that the proportion of U.S. Medicare beneficiaries receiving acute stroke therapy varies by region. Treatment rates in high performing regions may represent realistic national goals and inform policy to increase treatment rates. Methods: All Medicare beneficiaries with a principal diagnosis of ischemic stroke (ICD-9 433.x1, 434.x1, 436) admitted through the emergency department were identified using MEDPAR files from 2007-2010. Receipt of IV tPA (DRG 559, MS-DRG 61-63, ICD-9 procedure code 99.10) or IA thrombolysis (CPT code 37184-6, 37201, 75896 via linked Medicare Carrier files) was determined. Patients were assigned to one of 3,436 Hospital Service Areas (HSA; local health care markets for hospital care) by zip code. Regional acute stroke treatment rates were calculated and the lowest and highest quintiles were compared. Multi-level logistic regression was used to adjust for individual demographics as well as regional population density, education, median income, and unemployment using linked census data. Model-based adjusted regional acute stroke treatment rates were estimated. Results: Of 916,232 stroke admissions 3.6% received IV tPA only and 0.6% received IA or combined therapy. Unadjusted treatment rates by region ranged from 0.8% (minimum) to 14.8% (maximum). Regional rates ranged from 1.7% (quintile 1) to 5.4% (quintile 5). Regions with higher education, population density and income had higher treatment rates (p <= 0.001). After adjustment, regional differences were attenuated slightly _ 1.9% (quintile 1) to 5.1% (quintile 5). Conclusions: Marked variation exists in acute stroke treatment rates by region, even after adjusting for patient and regional characteristics, supporting the perception that a major opportunity exists to improve acute stroke treatment within many HSAs.


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