Mobile Stroke Units Evaluated in Real-World Practice

Mobile stroke units (MSUs) are ambulances equipped with portable computed-tomography scanners and staffed by specialized personnel that can evaluate suspected stroke patients and administer time-sensitive intravenous thrombolysis in the prehospital setting. Despite findings from multiple clinical trials that MSUs improve functional outcomes for stroke, the costs of providing this prehospital care are not currently reimbursable, partly from a concern that study results might not generalize to real-world settings. To evaluate this concern, investigators used data from the American Heart Association's large Get With the Guidelines–Stroke nationwide quality-improvement registry.

The researchers identified 106 institutions that received at least …