Abstract
Background and Purpose - Through 2-way live video and audio communication, telestroke enhances urgent treatment of patients with acute stroke in emergency departments (EDs) without immediate access to on-site specialists. To assess for opportunities to shorten the door to thrombolysis time, we measured multiple time intervals in a telestroke system. Methods - We retrospectively analyzed 115 records of consecutive acute stroke patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis during a 20-month period via a statewide telestroke system in 17 EDs in Georgia. On the basis of times documented in the telestroke system, we calculated the time elapsed between the following events: ED arrival, telestroke patient registration, start of specialist consultation, head computed tomography, thrombolysis recommendation, and thrombolysis initiation. Results - The most conspicuous delay was from ED arrival to telestroke patient registration (median, 39 minutes; interquartile range, 21-56). Median time from ED arrival to thrombolysis initiation was 88 minutes, interquartile range 75 to 105. Thrombolysis was initiated within 60 minutes from ED arrival in 13% of patients. Conclusions - The greatest opportunity to expedite acute thrombolysis via telestroke is by shortening the time from ED arrival to telestroke patient registration.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 2620-2622 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Stroke |
Volume | 44 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2013 |
Keywords
- Acute stroke
- Intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator
- Ischemic stroke
- Stroke care
- Telemedicine
- Telestroke
- Thrombolysis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Neurology
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
- Advanced and Specialized Nursing