The use of Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale during telephone dispatch interview increases the accuracy in identifying stroke and transient ischemic attack symptoms.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Timely and appropriate hospital treatment of acute cerebrovascular diseases (stroke and Transient Ischemic Attacks - TIA) improves patient outcomes. Emergency Medical Service (EMS) dispatchers who can identify cerebrovascular disease symptoms during telephone requests for emergency service also contribute to these improved outcomes. The Italian Ministry of Health issued guidelines on the management of AC patients in pre-hospital emergency service, including Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale (CPSS) use.We measured the sensitivity and Positive Predictive Value (PPV) of EMS dispatchers' ability to recognize stroke/TIA symptoms and evaluated whether the CPSS improves accuracy.

Methods

A cross-sectional multicentre study was conducted to collect data from 38 Italian

SUBMITTER: De Luca A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3867422 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature