title: Development of an acute ischemic stroke management course for hospital physicians in emergency departments and intensive care units.
abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate a training course on acute ischemic stroke (AIS) for hospital physicians, part of a regional strategy on AIS patient care. The course comprised an initial self-study (e-Learning) stage and 1-day theoretical-practical course on initial AIS management for Critical Care and Emergency physicians in the Andalusian Health Service (Spain). Data were collected on regional implementation of the stroke code and intravenous thrombolysis treatment. Between 2006 and 2009, 12 courses were attended by 356 physicians from emergency (n=148) and critical care (n=208) departments in the Andalusian health system. The initial stage was failed by 46.4% of trainees; the 1-day AIS course was successfully completed by all trainees, who reported a high satisfaction level. By the end of 2009, all hospitals had adopted the stroke code and approximately 5-6% of patients with AIS received intravenous thrombolysis. This type of healthcare strategy proved effective to improve AIS care in our setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Critical Care and Emergency Medicine, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada, Spain. pnavarro@ugr.es
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Navarrete-Navarro
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Murillo-Cabeza
authors.forename: Rocio
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bono-de-Seras
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rodriguez-Romero
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodriguez-Zarallo
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vazquez-Mata
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000193:education*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration; D005260:Female; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education; D008875:Middle Aged; D018794:Problem-Based Learning; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D013030:Spain; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015912:Thrombolytic Therapy / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents