Emergency Neurological Life Support: Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Acute ischemic stroke is a neurological emergency that can be treated with time-sensitive interventions, including both intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular approaches to thrombus removal. Extensive study has demonstrated that rapid, protocolized, assessment and treatment is essential to improving neurological outcome. For this reason, acute ischemic stroke was chosen as an emergency neurological life support protocol. The protocol focuses on the first hour of medical care following the acute onset of a neurological deficit.

American Telemedicine Association: Telestroke Guidelines.

The following telestroke guidelines were developed to assist practitioners in providing assessment, diagnosis, management, and/or remote consultative support to patients exhibiting symptoms and signs consistent with an acute stroke syndrome, using telemedicine communication technologies. Although telestroke practices may include the more broad utilization of telemedicine across the entire continuum of stroke care, with some even consulting on all neurologic emergencies, this document focuses on the acute phase of stroke, including both pre- and in-hospital encounters for cerebrovascular neurological emergencies. These guidelines describe a network of audiovisual communication and computer systems for delivery of telestroke clinical services and include operations, management, administration, and economic recommendations. These interactive encounters link patients with acute ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke syndromes with acute care facilities with remote and on-site healthcare practitioners providing access to expertise, enhancing clinical practice, and improving quality outcomes and metrics. These guidelines apply specifically to telestroke services and they do not prescribe or recommend overall clinical protocols for stroke patient care. Rather, the focus is on the unique aspects of delivering collaborative bedside and remote care through the telestroke model.

Emergency Neurological Life Support: Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Acute ischemic stroke is a neurological emergency that can be treated with time-sensitive interventions, including intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular approaches. Extensive study has demonstrated that rapid assessment and treatment are essential for improving neurological outcome. For this reason, acute ischemic stroke was chosen as an Emergency Neurological Life Support protocol. The protocol focuses on the first hour following the onset of neurological deficit.

Timeliness of intravenous thrombolysis via telestroke in Georgia.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Through 2-way live video and audio communication, telestroke enhances urgent treatment of patients with acute stroke in emergency departments (EDs) without immediate access to on-site specialists. To assess for opportunities to shorten the door to thrombolysis time, we measured multiple time intervals in a telestroke system. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 115 records of consecutive acute stroke patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis during a 20-month period via a statewide telestroke system in 17 EDs in Georgia. On the basis of times documented in the telestroke system, we calculated the time elapsed between the following events: ED arrival, telestroke patient registration, start of specialist consultation, head computed tomography, thrombolysis recommendation, and thrombolysis initiation. RESULTS: The most conspicuous delay was from ED arrival to telestroke patient registration (median, 39 minutes; interquartile range, 21-56). Median time from ED arrival to thrombolysis initiation was 88 minutes, interquartile range 75 to 105. Thrombolysis was initiated within 60 minutes from ED arrival in 13% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: The greatest opportunity to expedite acute thrombolysis via telestroke is by shortening the time from ED arrival to telestroke patient registration.

Simplified modified Rankin Scale questionnaire correlates with stroke severity.

OBJECTIVE: To further validate the simplified modified Rankin Scale questionnaire (smRSq), we compare it here to a well-established predictor of functional outcome after stroke, the initial stroke severity. DESIGN: Retrospective correlation analysis. PARTICIPANTS: Forty patients identified from a registry of stroke patients treated with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator. SETTING: Community and 17 hospital Emergency Departments within a web-based telestroke network throughout the state of Georgia, USA. MEASURES: Five certified raters assessed the initial stroke severities with the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) via the telestroke system. Over a 20 month period, one certified rater, unaware of the NIHSS scores, attempted to contact each patient in the registry to assess their functional outcomes with the smRSq via telephone. We analyzed patients who had the smRSq assessment at least three months after stroke. RESULTS: Forty of 120 registered patients were contacted and qualified for this study. The baseline clinical characteristics of the 40 analyzed and the 80 disqualified patients were similar. The correlation between the initial NIHSS and the smRSq was good (r = 0.69, R(2) = 0.47, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The good correlation of the smRSq with the initial stroke severity further confirms the smRSq validity in assessing functional outcome after stroke.

Emergency neurological life support: acute ischemic stroke.

Acute ischemic stroke is a neurological emergency that can be treated with time-sensitive interventions, including intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular approaches. Extensive study has demonstrated that rapid assessment and treatment are essential to improving neurological outcome. For this reason, acute ischemic stroke was chosen as an Emergency Neurological Life Support protocol. The protocol focuses on the first hour following the onset of neurological deficit.

Wernicke's encephalopathy and cranial nerve VII palsy in a 24-year-old patient with COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Many documented secondary neurologic manifestations are associated with COVID-19, including mild peripheral and central nervous system disorders (such as hypo/anosmia, hypo/ageusia, and cranial nerve VII palsy) and severe problems (such as ischemic stroke, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and encephalitis). The list is growing. A new addition is non-alcohol Wernicke's encephalopathy. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the case of a 24-year-old male with no past medical history who developed stroke-like symptoms two days after testing positive for COVID-19. MRI of his brain showed T2 FLAIR hyperintensity in the splenium of the corpus collosum, mamillary bodies, periaqueductal gray matter, tectum, and ventral and dorsal medulla, an MRI signal concerning for non-alcohol Wernicke's encephalopathy. Our patient had no risk factors for Wernicke's encephalopathy. He was admitted and started on thiamine for Wernicke's encephalopathy and steroids for his cranial VII nerve palsy. Both his symptoms and imaging improved. He was discharged on oral thiamine. Follow-up in the Neurology Clinic has confirmed his continued stable state. CONCLUSIONS: This case is one of three documented cases of Wernicke's encephalopathy believed to be caused by COVID-19 in patients without risk factors or chronic alcohol use. Ours is also the first case in which Wernicke's encephalopathy presents with a concomitant cranial nerve VII palsy. While Emergency Medicine doctors must maintain a high index of suspicion for stroke in younger patients with COVID-19, our patient's case augments the correlation between COVID-19 and Wernicke's encephalopathy in patients without other risk factors for developing the syndrome.

Defining emergency telehealth.

The American College of Emergency Physicians Emergency Telehealth Section was charged with development of a working definition of emergency telehealth that aligns with the College's definition of emergency medicine. A modified Delphi method was used by the section membership who represented telehealth providers in both private and public health-care delivery systems, academia and industry, rural and urban settings. Presented in this manuscript is the final definition of emergency telehealth developed with an additional six clarifying statements to address the context of the definition. Emergency telehealth is a core domain of emergency medicine and is inclusive of remotely providing all types of care for acute conditions of any kind requiring expeditious care irrespective of any prior relationship. The development of this definition is important to the global community of emergency physicians and all patients seeking acute care to ensure that appropriately trained clinicians are providing the highest quality of emergency services via the telehealth modality. We recommend implementing emergency telehealth in a manner that ensures appropriate qualifications of providers, appropriate/parity reimbursement for telehealth services and, most importantly, the delivery of quality care to patients in a safe, efficient, timely and cost-effective manner.

A telestroke network enhances recruitment into acute stroke clinical trials.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Acute stroke clinical trials are conducted primarily at academic medical centers. As a result, patients living in rural areas are excluded from participation, results may not be generalizable to nonacademic settings, and studies may be slow to recruit subjects. Telemedicine can provide rural patients with emergency neurovascular consultation. We sought to determine whether telemedicine facilitates enrollment into acute stroke trials. METHODS: We have an established rural "hub and spoke" telestroke network. From 2005 to 2009, we participated in 2 time-sensitive acute stroke trials: Factor Seven for Acute Hemorrhagic Stroke and Minocycline to Improve Neurological Outcome. Candidates for the 2 trials could be identified at either the hub or at the spokes, with patients presenting to the latter transferred to the hub for enrollment. We analyzed the times from symptom onset to consultation via telemedicine, arrival at the hub, and to initiation of a study drug to determine the impact of telemedicine on study enrollment. RESULTS: Nineteen of 28 subjects enrolled in the 2 trials were identified initially at an outside facility via a telemedicine link. An additional 9 candidates identified by telemedicine could not be enrolled because of transportation time. Arrival at the hub was 127 minutes later (median, 207 [95% CI, 145 to 255] versus 80 [95% CI, 55 to 142]; P=0.0002), and study drug was started 74 minutes later (median, 298 [95% CI, 218 to 352] versus 225 [95% CI, 147 to 330]; P=0.05) for subjects who were identified via telemedicine and required transport to the hub compared with local subjects who presented directly to the hub. CONCLUSIONS: Telemedicine can enhance enrollment into time-sensitive acute stroke trials. However, transfer of subjects to the hub results in delays in study initiation for some and precludes enrollment for others similar to the weaknesses of "ship and drip" thrombolytic strategies. To save time, efforts are needed to enroll clinical trial subjects and begin the research drug at the remote site under telemedicine guidance.

A web-based telestroke system facilitates rapid treatment of acute ischemic stroke patients in rural emergency departments.

Patients in rural communities lack access to acute stroke therapies. Rapid administration of thrombolytic therapy increases the likelihood of a favorable outcome in ischemic stroke. We aimed to detail the safety, feasibility, and treatment times of thrombolytic therapy with a web-based telestroke system. At the Medical College of Georgia, we have developed a telestroke system (Remote Evaluation of Acute IsCHemic Stroke; REACH) in which emergency physicians in surrounding counties may consult stroke specialists at our institution. The web-based system allows the stroke consultant to obtain history, examine the patient with live video, and review computed tomography. A recommendation is made regarding the administration of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) before patient transport to the tertiary medical center. A systematic review of the literature was conducted regarding the use of tPA in academic and community hospitals. Symptomatic hemorrhagic transformation and stroke onset-to-treatment times were compared between the REACH network and other stroke care delivery systems. Between February 2003 and March 2006, 50 patients were treated with intravenous tPA using the REACH telestroke system. There was one (2%) symptomatic hemorrhage. The mean onset-to-treatment time was 127.6 min (95% confidence interval 117.1-138.0) using REACH compared with 145.9 min (95% confidence interval 126.9-164.9) in our Emergency Department and 147.8 min in other published systems. REACH, a web-based telestroke system, facilitates the safe administration of thrombolytic therapy to patients within rural communities suffering an acute ischemic stroke.

Telestroke: extending stroke expertise into underserved areas.

Telestroke systems offer the opportunity to extend stroke-care expertise into rural and underserved areas. These systems are being used to give alteplase to patients with stroke in previously underserved areas safely, effectively, and rapidly. Telestroke will probably play a large part in improving the quality of stroke care and in enrolling patients into clinical trials in rural and community hospitals. One such telestroke system, REACH (remote evaluation of acute ischaemic stroke), is a low-cost, web-based system that allows the consultant to access the system from work, home, or on the road. REACH is presently being used to give alteplase and guide acute stroke care in eight rural community hospitals in Georgia.

Addressing Disparities in Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation: Educational Opportunities.

Disparities in atrial fibrillation (AF)-related stroke and mortality persist, especially racial disparities, within the US "Stroke Belt." This study identified barriers to optimal stroke prevention to develop a framework for clinician education. A comprehensive educational needs assessment was developed focusing on clinicians within the Stroke Belt. The mixed qualitative-quantitative approach included regional surveys and one-on-one clinician interviews. Identified contributors to disparities included implicit racial biases, lack of awareness of racial disparities in AF stroke risk, and lack of effective multicultural awareness and training. Additional barriers affecting disparities included patient medical mistrust and clinician-patient communication challenges. General barriers included lack of consistency in assessing stroke and anticoagulant-related bleeding risk, underuse of standardized risk assessment tools, discomfort with novel anticoagulants, and patient education deficiencies. Effective cultural competency training is one strategy to reduce disparities in AF-related stroke and mortality by improving implicit clinician bias, addressing medical mistrust, and improving clinician-patient communication.

REACH: clinical feasibility of a rural telestroke network.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Development of stroke networks is critical to bringing guideline-driven stroke care to rural, underserved areas. METHODS: A Web-based telestroke tool, REACH, was developed to provide a foundation for a rural stroke network that delivered acute stroke consults 24 hours per day 7 days per week to 8 rural community hospitals in Georgia. RESULTS: There were 194 acute stroke consults delivered. Thirty patients were treated with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). The mean National Institutes of Health Stroke Score (NIHSS) was 15.4, and the median NIHSS was 12.5. The mean onset to treatment time (OTT) was 122 minutes. The OTT dropped from 143 minutes in the first 10 patients treated to 111 minutes in last 20 patients. Of the 30 patients treated with tPA, 23% (7) were treated in < or =90 minutes and 60% (18) were treated within 2 hours. There were no symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhages. CONCLUSIONS: The REACH telestroke system permits the rapid and safe use of tPA in rural community hospitals. Over time, the system became more efficient and OTT decreased.

Remote evaluation of acute ischemic stroke: reliability of National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale via telestroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Despite Food and Drug Administration approval of tissue-type plasminogen activator for stroke, obstacles in the US healthcare system prevent its widespread use. The Remote Evaluation for Acute Ischemic Stroke (REACH) program was developed to address these issues in rural settings. A key component of stroke assessment in the REACH system is the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) evaluation. We sought to determine whether, using the REACH system, NIHSS values of bedside and remote evaluators would correspond. METHODS: Twenty patients were recruited. On obtaining consent, a neurologist performed a bedside NIHSS evaluation on each patient. Within 1 hour, using any broadband-connected workstation-either office or home personal computer and a landline phone to speak with the patient-a second neurologist remotely evaluated the patient through the REACH system. Paired t tests and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to examine NIHSS reliability performed bedside and remotely. RESULTS: NIHSS ranged from 1 to 24. Correlations between bedside and remote locations (r=0.9552, P=0.0001) were very strong, and t tests indicate that the means were not different. CONCLUSIONS: The NIHSS can be reliably performed over the REACH system. This supports our endeavor to bring stroke expertise to rural community hospitals.

Remote evaluation of acute ischemic stroke in rural community hospitals in Georgia.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Despite Food and Drug Administration approval of tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) for stroke, obstacles in the US health care system prevent widespread use. The Remote Evaluation for Acute Ischemic Stroke (REACH) program was developed to address these obstacles in rural settings. We have previously shown the reliability of the REACH system in performing a valid National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) evaluation at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG). We now report on the performance of the system since its deployment in 5 rural hospitals in east Georgia. METHODS: The rural emergency department (ED) staff can activate a Code REACH protocol 24 hours per day, 7 days per week by calling the Emergency Communications Center (ECC, an in-house dispatch center) at MCG, who pages the on-call consultant. The consultant calls back the ECC and is connected to the waiting ED. Simultaneously, using any broadband-connected workstation, the consultant logs in to the REACH system, allowing performance of an NIHSS evaluation, review of the computerized tomography (CT) images transmitted by the local radiology staff, and then the consultant can speak to the patient and family to verify time of onset. RESULTS: The REACH system has evaluated 75 patients from March 2003 to April 2004, and 12 have received tPA, all without intracranial hemorrhage complications. NIHSS scores ranged from 0 to 30, with a mean of 14.3 (SD=8.7, median 11.5). The mean onset to door time was 70.9 minutes (SD=70.8, median 50), the mean door to consult time was 45.1 minutes (SD=39.8, median 34), and the mean door to NIHSS completion was 62.9 minutes (SD=50.8, median 51). The mean onset to needle time was 135.33 minutes (SD=51.45, median 134.5). CONCLUSIONS: The REACH system enables remote stroke physicians to direct the local ED staff to administer tPA in rural settings where thrombolytics were not previously used. REACH may be used as a rapid consult tool to provide the same quality of stroke care to patients in rural hospitals as is given in tertiary stroke centers. This supports our endeavor to bring stroke expertise to rural community hospitals.