Telemedicine in emergency evaluation of acute stroke: interrater agreement in remote video examination with a novel multimedia system.
OBJECTIVE
In acute stroke care, rapid but careful evaluation of patients is mandatory but requires an experienced stroke neurologist. Telemedicine offers the possibility of bringing such expertise quickly to more patients. This study tested for the first time whether remote video examination is feasible and reliable when applied in emergency stroke care using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS).


METHODS
We used a novel multimedia telesupport system for transfer of real-time video sequences and audio data. The remote examiner could direct the set-top camera and zoom from distant overviews to close-ups from the personal computer in his office. Acute stroke patients admitted to our stroke unit were examined on admission in the emergency room. Standardized examination was performed by use of the NIHSS (German version) via telemedicine and compared with bedside application.


RESULTS
In this pilot study, 41 patients were examined. Total examination time was 11.4 minutes on average (range, 8 to 18 minutes). None of the examinations had to be stopped or interrupted for technical reasons, although minor problems (brightness, audio quality) with influence on the examination process occurred in 2 sessions. Unweighted kappa coefficients ranged from 0.44 to 0.89; weighted kappa coefficients, from 0.85 to 0.99.


CONCLUSIONS
Remote examination of acute stroke patients with a computer-based telesupport system is feasible and reliable when applied in the emergency room; interrater agreement was good to excellent in all items. For more widespread use, some problems that emerge from details like brightness, optimal camera position, and audio quality should be solved.
Handschu
René
R
Department of Neurology, Friedrich Alexander Universitaet, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. rene.handschu@neuro.med.uni-erlangen.de
Littmann
Rebekka
R
Reulbach
Udo
U
Gaul
Charly
C
Heckmann
Josef G
JG
Neundörfer
Bernhard
B
Scibor
Mateusz
M
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000379:methods*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019212:Multimedia; D015588:Observer Variation; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis*; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013997:Time Factors