In a German study, time to thrombolysis was faster when treatment was provided by neurologists in a specially-equipped ambulance than in the ED.
Investigators in Germany compared time to thrombolysis between stroke patients receiving routine care in an emergency department and those evaluated in the prehospital setting by a special ambulance called “stroke emergency mobile” or STEMO. The STEMO was staffed by a neurologist and was equipped with a mobile computed tomography scanner and a point-of-care laboratory.
The unit of randomization was the week, with the STEMO responding when available during intervention weeks; 1804 STEMO responses were compared with 2969 routine cases. Of note, 1409 patients during STEMO weeks received routine care because the STEMO was not available.
With STEMO care, call-to-thrombolysis time was 25 minutes shorter; rates of thrombolysis were 13% higher (92% v…
Reviewing Author
DisclosuresConsultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education
Grant/Research SupportAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality; CDC; NIH–National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences; NIH–National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); NIH–NIAID–Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group; Merck; Pfizer; Boehringer-Ingelheim; Shire; Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Novartis; bioMérieux; Siemens; Rapid Pathogen Screening; Magnolia; Stago; Innovative Biosensors; Molecular Detection, Inc.; Dyax Corp.; Trius Pharmaceuticals
DisclosuresConsultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education
Grant/Research SupportAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality; CDC; NIH–National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences; NIH–National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); NIH–NIAID–Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group; Merck; Pfizer; Boehringer-Ingelheim; Shire; Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Novartis; bioMérieux; Siemens; Rapid Pathogen Screening; Magnolia; Stago; Innovative Biosensors; Molecular Detection, Inc.; Dyax Corp.; Trius Pharmaceuticals