Emergency Medical Services dispatcher recognition of stroke: A systematic review.

PURPOSE: Stroke treatments are time-sensitive, and thus early and correct recognition of stroke by Emergency Medical Services is essential for outcomes. This is particularly important with the adaption of mobile stroke units. In this systematic review, we therefore aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of Emergency Medical Services dispatcher recognition of stroke. METHODS: The review was registered on PROSPERO and the PRISMA guidelines were applied. We searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Review Library. Screening and data extraction were performed by two observers. Risk of bias was assessed using the QUADAS-2 instrument. FINDINGS: Of 1200 papers screened, 24 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Data on sensitivity was reported in 22 papers and varied from 17.9% to 83.0%. Positive predictive values were reported in 12 papers and ranged from 24.0% to 87.7%. Seven papers reported specificity, which ranged from 20.0% to 99.1%. Six papers reported negative predictive value, ranging from 28.0% to 99.4%. In general, the risk of bias was low. DISCUSSION: Stroke recognition by dispatchers varied greatly, but overall many patients with stroke are not recognised, despite the initiatives taken to improve stroke literacy. The available data are of high quality, however Asian, African, and South American populations are underrepresented. CONCLUSION: While the data are heterogenous, this review can serve as a reference for future research in emergency medical dispatcher stroke recognition and initiatives to improve prehospital stroke recognition.

Diagnosing cancer-associated ischemic stroke: A systematic review of hematological biomarkers.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Patients suffering from cancer are reported to have an increased risk of ischemic stroke (IS). We aimed to identify cancer-associated biomarkers found to differentiate between IS associated with cancer from those not associated with cancer. SUMMARY OF REVIEW: We performed a systematic search of PubMed and EMBASE databases according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The study is reported in PROSPERO (#CRD42022355129). In total, 5563 papers were screened, of which 49 papers were included. Seven biomarkers were identified which had the potential to differentiate between patients who had cancer or stroke or both conditions. D-dimer was the most frequently monitored biomarker, and high levels were significantly associated with cancer-related strokes in (42/44) studies. Fibrinogen was significantly associated with cancer-related strokes in 11/27 studies. A higher level of C-reactive protein, investigated in 19 studies, was associated with cancer-related strokes, but conclusive multivariate analysis was not performed. Finally, the four cancer-associated antigens CA125, CA153, CA199, and carcinoembryonic antigen were only reported on in three to six studies, respectively. These studies all originated from the Guangxi province in China. CA125 was associated with an increased risk of IS in four of six studies. CONCLUSION: Increased D-dimer seems associated with cancer-related IS. CRP may also be a candidate as a cancer-associated stroke biomarker, but this requires further verification. Fibrinogen and the more specific cancer biomarkers have not yet been proven helpful for detecting cancer-related strokes.

A retrospective study on machine learning-assisted stroke recognition for medical helpline calls.

Advanced stroke treatment is time-dependent and, therefore, relies on recognition by call-takers at prehospital telehealth services to ensure fast hospitalisation. This study aims to develop and assess the potential of machine learning in improving prehospital stroke recognition during medical helpline calls. We used calls from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2020 in Copenhagen to develop a machine learning-based classification pipeline. Calls from 2021 are used for testing. Calls are first transcribed using an automatic speech recognition model and then categorised as stroke or non-stroke using a text classification model. Call-takers achieve a sensitivity of 52.7% (95% confidence interval 49.2-56.4%) with a positive predictive value (PPV) of 17.1% (15.5-18.6%). The machine learning framework performs significantly better (p < 0.0001) with a sensitivity of 63.0% (62.0-64.1%) and a PPV of 24.9% (24.3-25.5%). Thus, a machine learning framework for recognising stroke in prehospital medical helpline calls may become a supportive tool for call-takers, aiding in early and accurate stroke recognition.

Dispatcher Stroke/TIA Recognition in Emergency Medical Call Center and Out-of-Hours Service Calls in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Background and Objectives: Recognition of stroke/TIA symptoms by emergency medical services (EMS) is instrumental in providing timely recanalization treatments. We assessed the recognition of stroke/TIA by EMS via the emergency medical call center (EMCC) dispatchers and out-of-hours health service (OOHS) dispatchers. Methods: In a registry study, based on 2015-2020 data from the Copenhagen EMS, we calculated sensitivity, positive predictive value (PPV), specificity, and negative predictive value (NPV) of dispatcher suspicion of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) and compared against discharge diagnosis. Results: We included 462,029 contacts to EMCC and 2,573,865 contacts to OOHS. In total, 19,798 contacts had a stroke or TIA diagnosis at hospital discharge. Sensitivity was 0.64 for EMCC dispatchers and 0.25 for OOHS. PPV was 0.28 for EMCC and 0.22 for OOHS; specificity was 0.96 for EMCC and >0.99 for OOHS, and NPV was 0.99 for EMCC and >0.99 for OOHS. Sensitivity improved over the period of the study from 0.62 to 0.68 for EMCC and from 0.20 to 0.25 for OOHS. PPV did not change over the period for EMCC and decreased from 0.26 to 0.19 for OOHS. Both EMCC and OOHS more frequently overlooked stroke in women, in patients calling more than 3 hours after symptom onset, and for more severe strokes. For OHHS, advanced age correlated with lower recognition. Discussion: As the first study reporting on OOHS setting dispatcher stroke/TIA recognition, we find a need for the improvement of stroke/TIA recognition both in EMCC and in OOHS. Solutions may include specific training of dispatchers, public awareness campaigns, and new technological solutions.

[Hepatitis E-related meningoradiculitis].

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the most common cause of acute clinical hepatitis in the world and can cause extrahepatic disease including the nervous system. This is a case report of two patients illustrating this disorder. One patient was a 69-year-old man with painless affection of both brachial plexuses, and the other patient was a 61-year-old man with painful right brachial plexus affection, headache and cognitive problems. Both had pleocytosis in cerebrospinal fluid and tested positive for HEV immunoglobulin (Ig) G and IgM in blood, and the first also in blood with PCR analysis. No other infectious agents were identified. Symptoms improved over months.

Prevalence of cognitive impairment and its relation to mental health in Danish lymphoma survivors.

PURPOSE: This study sought to investigate the prevalence of self-reported cognitive impairment and its relation to illness and treatment characteristics and mental health in Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) survivors as cancer-related cognitive impairment has not been extensively studied in lymphoma survivors. METHODS: One hundred fifteen HL and DLBCL survivors (mean age = 40.3 years, mean months since completed treatment = 29.6) completed questionnaires on executive function and mental health. We examined the prevalence of executive impairment and compared illness and treatment characteristics and mental health across survivors reporting impaired and non-impaired executive functioning using chi-square, Cochran-Armitage, and Mann-Whitney U tests. RESULTS: We found that 39% reported executive impairment. Survivors reporting impaired executive functioning reported worse mental health (ps < .001) than survivors reporting non-impaired executive functioning. A larger proportion of the impaired group had received a high chemo dose compared to the non-impaired group although this result fell short of significance after adjustment for multiple comparisons (p = .017). CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported cognitive impairment is prevalent in HL and DLBCL survivors and is associated with worse mental health and possibly high chemo dose. Future studies should investigate objective impairment and the possible dose-response relationship between chemo dose and cognitive impairment in lymphoma survivors.