A Paradigm Shift in EMS Evaluation Of Stroke

Background Montgomery County Hospital District EMS (MCHD) is collaborating with the South East Texas Regional Advisory Committee (SETRAC) to validate their existing prehospital suspected neurological event guideline for stroke assessment and transport. MCHD is a non-fire based EMS service in Montgomery County, Texas. We respond to approximately 58,000 calls to service and identify stroke in more than 500 patients per year. Our EMS system covers an estimated 1,100-square-mile service area and has 190 medics, 900 EMTs and 15 first responder (FR) organizations. Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is a debilitating and costly disease with few treatment options. On average in the U.S., a stroke occurs every 40 seconds and a death related to stroke every four minutes.1 To date, tissue plasminogen activator (Activase, or alteplase) has been the only FDA-approved treatment demonstrating improved clinical outcomes for AIS.2–5 There are compelling new data in carefully selected patients with large vessel occlusive (LVO) stroke that mechanical clot retrieval along with TPA may have a profound effect on the morbidity and mortality associated with AIS.6–9 It remains clear from the literature that timely care of acute ischemic stroke is associated with improved outcomes.6–9,10,11,15–18 Acute care coordination in stroke is a complex and challenging task that many health systems struggle to master. The American Stroke Association (ASA) recommendation for developing systems of stroke care emp...
Source: JEMS Patient Care - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Patient Care Source Type: news