Temporal trends of ambulance time intervals for suspected stroke/transient ischaemic attack (TIA) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland: a quasi-experimental study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Time is a fundamental component of acute stroke and transient ischaemic attack (TIA) care, thus minimising prehospital delays is a crucial part of the stroke chain of survival. COVID-19 restrictions were introduced in Ireland in response to the pandemic, which resulted in major societal changes. However, current research on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on prehospital care for stroke/TIA is limited to early COVID-19 waves. Thus, we aimed to investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on ambulance time intervals and suspected stroke/TIA call volume for adults with suspected stroke and TIA in Ireland, from 2018 to 2021.

Design

We conducted a secondary data analysis with a quasi-experimental design.

Setting

We used data from the National Ambulance S

SUBMITTER: Burton E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10961584 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature