Mobile stroke unit for diagnosis-based triage of persons with suspected stroke

P. Kostopoulos, S. Walter, A. Haass, P. Papanagiotou, C. Roth, U. Yilmaz, H. Körner, M. Alexandrou, J. Viera, E. Dabew, K. Ziegler, K. Schmidt, D. Kubulus, Iris Grunwald, Thomas Schlechtriemen, Yang Liu, Thomas Volk, Wolfgang Reith, Klaus Fassbender (Lead / Corresponding author)

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    55 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Background: In this feasibility study, we tested whether prehospital diagnostic stroke workup enables rational decision-making regarding treatment and the target hospital in persons with suspected stroke.

    Methods: A mobile stroke unit that delivers imaging (including multimodal brain imaging with CT angiography and CT perfusion), point-of-care-laboratory analysis, and neurologic expertise directly at the emergency site was analyzed for its use in prehospital diagnosis-based triage of suspected stroke patients.

    Results: We present 4 complementary cases with suspected stroke who underwent prehospital diagnostic workup that enabled direct diagnosis-based treatment decisions and reliable triage regarding the most appropriate medical facility for that individual, e.g., a primary hospital vs specialized centers of a tertiary hospital.

    Conclusions: This preliminary report demonstrates the feasibility of prehospital diagnostic stroke workup for immediate etiology-specific decision-making regarding the necessary time-sensitive stroke treatment and the most appropriate target hospital.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1849-1852
    Number of pages4
    JournalNeurology
    Volume78
    Issue number23
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 5 Jun 2012

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