The impact of ambulance practice on acute stroke care.
Stroke
; 38(10): 2765-70, 2007 Oct.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-17717317
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:
Few patients with acute stroke are treated with alteplase, often due to significant prehospital delays after symptom onset. The aims of this study were to (1) identify factors associated with rapid first medical assessment in the emergency department after a call for ambulance assistance, and (2) determine the impact of ambulance practice on times from the ambulance call to first medical assessment in the emergency department.METHODS:
During a 6-month period in 2004, all ambulance-transported patients with stroke or transient ischemic attack arriving from a geographically defined region in Melbourne, Australia (population 383,000) to one of 3 hospital emergency departments were assessed prospectively. Ambulance records including the tape recording of the call for ambulance assistance and hospital medical records, were analyzed.RESULTS:
One hundred ninety-eight patients were included in the study. One hundred eighty-seven ambulance patient care records were complete and available for analysis. Factors associated with first medical assessment in the emergency department <60 minutes from the ambulance call and <10 minutes from hospital arrival were Glasgow Coma Scale <13 (P<0.001 and P=0.021) and hospital prenotification (P=0.04 and P<0.001). Paramedic stroke recognition and hospital prenotification were associated with shorter times from the ambulance call to first medical assessment (P=0.001 and P<0.001).CONCLUSIONS:
Paramedic stroke recognition and hospital prenotification are associated with shorter prehospital times from the ambulance call to hospital arrival and in-hospital times from hospital arrival to first medical assessment. This highlights the importance of including ambulance practice in comprehensive care pathways that span the whole process of stroke care.
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Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Contexto en salud:
11_ODS3_cobertura_universal
Problema de salud:
11_delivery_arrangements
Asunto principal:
Ambulancias
/
Atención Integral de Salud
/
Accidente Cerebrovascular
/
Técnicos Medios en Salud
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Guideline
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País/Región como asunto:
Oceania
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Stroke
Año:
2007
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Australia