title: Impact of regional pre-hospital emergency medical services in treatment of patients with acute ischemic stroke.
abstract: Stroke is a major public health concern afflicting an estimated 795,000 Americans annually. The associated morbidity and mortality is staggering. Early treatment with thrombolytics is beneficial. The window for treatment is narrow and minimization of the time from symptom onset to treatment is vital. The general population is not well informed as to the warning signs or symptoms of stroke, leading to substantial delays in emergency medical services (EMS) activation. Ambulance transport of stroke patients to the hospital has demonstrated improvements in key benchmarks such as door to physician evaluation, door to CT initiation, and increased thrombolytic treatment. Pre-hospital notification of the impending arrival of a stroke patient allows for vital preparation in the treating emergency department, and improving timely evaluation and treatment upon arrival of the stroke patient. EMS systems are a vital component of the management of stroke patients, and resources used to improve these systems are beneficial.
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan Medical School, Department of Emergency Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. cemal@med.umich.edu
authors.forename: Cemal B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Sozener
authors.forename: William G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Barsan
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D017732:Air Ambulances; D000552:Ambulances; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D004631:Emergency Medical Service Communication Systems; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015912:Thrombolytic Therapy; D013997:Time Factors; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014187:Transportation of Patients / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator