RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Accurate recognition of stroke victims by ambulance paramedics is necessary to ensure the rapid transfer of these patients to the hospital. We carried out a prospective study to characterize the cause of prehospital delays after stroke by the emergency medical service (EMS) and to determine the accuracy of identifying acute stroke by paramedics. METHODS: All paramedics in the Busan Metropolitan 119 EMS were asked to record the clinical presentations and time intervals from symptom onset to various points along the patients' prehospital course on the ambulance admission sheets for suspected stroke patients during a month (February 1, 2010 to February 28, 2010). Neurologists in twenty four hospitals reviewed the hospital records for the patients who were given a diagnosis of stroke or transient ischemic attack by the paramedics. RESULTS: Of the EMS on-scene evaluations, the diagnosis of stroke by ambulance paramedics was correct for 79 of the 186 (43%) patients. Positive predictive values for main suspected stroke symptoms were 95% in hemiparesis, 88% in speech disturbance and 44% in impaired consciousness. The prehospital personnel transferred the suspected stroke patients to each hospital at a mean of 25 minutes after the emergency 119 call. However, only 62% of the stroke patients called EMS within the first 2 hours of stroke. CONCLUSIONS: Public education for the need to seek EMS promptly after stroke as a medical emergency, and strokespecific training for EMS personnel are essential so that stroke patients receive effective acute treatment.