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

Authors :: Kostopoulos P
Walter S
Haass A
Papanagiotou P
Roth C
Yilmaz U
Körner H
Alexandrou M
Viera J
Dabew E
Ziegler K
Schmidt K
Kubulus D
Grunwald I
Schlechtriemen T
Liu Y
Volk T
Reith W
Fassbender K
Source :: Neurology [Neurology] 2012 Jun 05; Vol. 78 (23), pp. 1849-52. Date of Electronic Publication: 2012 May 16.
Publication Year :: 2012
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.<br />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.<br />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.<br />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.