Implementation of a nursing-based protocol for managing acute stroke complications significantly improved outcomes.
Patients with stroke who are treated in specialized stroke units fare better than those on general wards. Although the precise reasons are unknown, this difference may partly reflect staff experience in identifying and responding to complications of stroke. To determine whether a standardized system for addressing stroke complications can improve outcomes in acute-stroke centers, researchers in Australia performed a cluster-randomized trial of a multidisciplinary protocol for managing fever, hyperglycemia, and dysphagia immediately after stroke.
In 10 specialized stroke centers assigned to the intervention group, patients were closely monitored for fever, which was treated with paracetamol, and hyperglycemia, which was treated with fluids an…
Reviewing Author
DisclosuresSpeaker’s bureauGenentech
Grant / Research supportNational Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; Michael Goldberg Stroke Research Fund
Editorial boardsPLOS One; Scientific Reports
Leadership positions in professional societiesNeurocritical Care Society (Research Committee Member)
DisclosuresSpeaker’s bureauGenentech
Grant / Research supportNational Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; Michael Goldberg Stroke Research Fund
Editorial boardsPLOS One; Scientific Reports
Leadership positions in professional societiesNeurocritical Care Society (Research Committee Member)