Stroke severity quantification by critical care physicians in a mobile stroke unit.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cerebral revascularization in acute stroke requires robust diagnostic tools close to symptom onset. The quantitative National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) is widely used in-hospital, whereas shorter and less specific stroke scales are used in the prehospital field. This study explored the accuracy and potential clinical benefit of using NIHSS prehospitally.

Patients and methods

Thirteen anesthesiologists trained in prehospital critical care enrolled patients with suspected acute stroke in a mobile stroke unit. NIHSS was completed twice in the acute phase: first prehospitally and then by an on-call resident neurologist at the receiving hospital. The agreement between prehospital and in-hospital NIHSS scores was assessed by a Bland-Altman plot, and inter

SUBMITTER: Hov MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6504122 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature