Long-term implementation of a prehospital severity scale for EMS triage of acute stroke: a real-world experience.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Data on the implementation of prehospital large vessel occlusion (LVO) scales to identify and triage patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in the field are limited, with the majority of studies occurring outside the USA.

Objective

To report our long-term experience of a US countywide emergency medical services (EMS) acute stroke triage protocol using the Rapid Arterial oCclusion Evaluation (RACE) score.

Methods

Our prospective database was used to identify all consecutive patients triaged within Lucas County, Ohio by the EMS with (1) a RACE score ≥5, taken directly to an endovascular capable center (ECC) as RACE-alerts (RA) and (2) a RACE score <5, taken to the nearest hospital as stroke-alerts (SA). Baseline demographics, RACE score, time metrics, fina

SUBMITTER: Jumaa MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6996096 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature