A regional system of stroke care provides thrombolytic outcomes comparable with the NINDS stroke trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Administration of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) for acute ischemic stroke remains controversial in community practice. Well-organized hierarchic systems of acute stroke care have been proposed to link community hospitals to comprehensive stroke centers. We report safety and functional outcomes in patients treated with tPA in our regional emergency stroke network and compare them with results reported from the trial conducted by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). METHODS: Through a statewide communications and transport network, our brain attack center gives emergency medicine staff in the state and surrounding area immediate access to stroke specialists. The team provides consultation about the administration of tPA for ischemic stroke, using the NINDS protocol. Consultations, treatment, and outcomes are documented in our database. RESULTS: From 1996 to 2005, the brain attack center completed 2,670 consultations and diagnosed 1,788 patients with ischemic stroke. Two hundred forty patients (9% of all consultations; 13.4% of those with acute ischemic stroke) received tPA. Percentages of patients with symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage and 3-month modified Rankin scale scores less than or equal to 1, compared with those in the NINDS trial, were as follows: 3.3% versus 6.4% and 53% versus 43% (P=.04). Mortality rates were 13% (network) versus 17% (NINDS). CONCLUSION: During a 9-year period, an emergency medicine network with stroke consultants achieved patient outcomes comparable to those reported from the NINDS trial. These results indicate that the NINDS tPA protocol is applicable to community practice, with the support of a university-based brain attack center.

Attitudes of Emergency Medical Service providers towards naloxone distribution programs.

Training and distributing naloxone to drug users is a promising method for reducing deaths associated with heroin overdose. Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers have experience responding to overdose, administering naloxone, and performing clinical management of the patient. Little is known about the attitudes of EMS providers toward training drug users to use naloxone. We conducted an anonymous survey of 327 EMS providers to assess their attitudes toward a pilot naloxone program. Of 176 who completed the survey, the majority were male (79%) and Caucasian (75%). The average number of years working as an EMS provider was 7 (SD=6). Overall attitudes toward training drug users to administer naloxone were negative with 56% responding that this training would not be effective in reducing overdose deaths. Differences in attitudes did not vary by gender, level of training, or age. Providers with greater number of years working in EMS were more likely to view naloxone trainings as effective in reducing overdose death. Provider concerns included drug users' inability to properly administer the drug, program condoning and promoting drug use, and unsafe disposal of used needles. Incorporating information about substance abuse and harm reduction approaches in continuing education classes may improve the attitudes of provider toward naloxone training programs.

Shortening time to stroke treatment using ambulance telemedicine: TeleBAT.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with ischemic stroke treated with tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) have better outcomes when treated closer to the time of symptom onset and within the 3-hour window. We previously demonstrated the clinical use of TeleBAT, a mobile telemedicine system for stroke. We tested the impact of that system on time to treatment for patients with acute stroke. METHODS: Validity and reliability were tested by comparing neurologic examination scores obtained using our wireless system, which transmits video of a patient from a moving ambulance to desktop computers, with those obtained using the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke training videotape. TeleBAT validity and good interrater reliability were defined a priori as a kappa statistic of r > 0.5. We compared the average time to treatment for our TeleBAT-evaluated intervention group with that for our control group. The intervention group consisted of two actor patients with stroke mimicking 12 stroke scenarios and evaluated using TeleBAT. The control group consisted of patients with stroke evaluated and treated with rt-PA on arrival to the emergency department. Data were analyzed using standard t test. RESULTS: National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale items calculated by the neurologists suggest TeleBAT is valid for assessing patients with stroke remotely. Interrater reliability was high: the neurologists gleaned the same information from TeleBAT transmissions. Kappa values for both validity and reliability exceeded 0.5. The mean time to treatment for patients assessed by TeleBAT was 17 +/- 4 minutes compared with 33 +/- 17 minutes for our control group (P = .0033). CONCLUSION: TeleBAT seems to be a valid and reliable means of evaluating stroke neurologic deficits. Time to treatment was shortened using ambulance transport time to evaluate patients as candidates for thrombolytic therapy. Future studies should use a randomized design with patients with acute stroke.