title: Improved prehospital triage of patients with stroke in a specialized stroke ambulance: results of the pre-hospital acute neurological therapy and optimization of medical care in stroke study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Specialized management of patients with stroke is not available in all hospitals. We evaluated whether prehospital management in the Stroke Emergency Mobile (STEMO) improves the triage of patients with stroke.
  
  
  METHODS
  STEMO is an ambulance staffed with a specialized stroke team and equipped with a computed tomographic scanner and point-of-care laboratory. We compared the prehospital triage of patients with suspected stroke at dispatcher level who either received STEMO care or conventional care. We assessed transport destination in patients with different diagnoses. Status at hospital discharge was used as short-term outcome.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From May 2011 to January 2013, 1804 of 6182 (29%) patients received STEMO care and 4378 of 6182 (71%) patients conventional care. Two hundred forty-five of 2110 (11.6%) patients with cerebrovascular events were sent to hospitals without Stroke Unit in conventional care when compared with 48 of 866 (5.5%; P<0.01%) patients in STEMO care. In patients with ischemic stroke, STEMO care reduced transport to hospitals without Stroke Unit from 10.1% (151 of 1497) to 3.9% (24 of 610; P<0.01). The delivery rate of patients with intracranial hemorrhage to hospitals without neurosurgery department was 43.0% (65 of 151) in conventional care and 11.3% (7 of 62) in STEMO care (P<0.01). There was a slight trend toward higher rates of patients discharged home in neurological patients when cared by STEMO (63.5% versus 60.8%; P=0.096).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The triage of patients with cerebrovascular events to specialized hospitals can be improved by STEMO ambulances.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01382862.
authors: From the Department of Neurology (M.W., M.E., A.K., M.R., C.W., J.E.W., B.W., P.M.K., E.F., J.R., H.J.A.), Center for Stroke Research Berlin (M.E., M.R., B.W., H.J.A.), Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany; and Berliner Feuerwehr, Berlin, Germany (D.S.). matthias.wendt@charite.de.
authors: Matthias
authors: M
authors: Wendt
authors: From the Department of Neurology (M.W., M.E., A.K., M.R., C.W., J.E.W., B.W., P.M.K., E.F., J.R., H.J.A.), Center for Stroke Research Berlin (M.E., M.R., B.W., H.J.A.), Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany; and Berliner Feuerwehr, Berlin, Germany (D.S.).
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Ebinger
authors: From the Department of Neurology (M.W., M.E., A.K., M.R., C.W., J.E.W., B.W., P.M.K., E.F., J.R., H.J.A.), Center for Stroke Research Berlin (M.E., M.R., B.W., H.J.A.), Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany; and Berliner Feuerwehr, Berlin, Germany (D.S.).
authors: Alexander
authors: A
authors: Kunz
authors: From the Department of Neurology (M.W., M.E., A.K., M.R., C.W., J.E.W., B.W., P.M.K., E.F., J.R., H.J.A.), Center for Stroke Research Berlin (M.E., M.R., B.W., H.J.A.), Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany; and Berliner Feuerwehr, Berlin, Germany (D.S.).
authors: Michal
authors: M
authors: Rozanski
authors: From the Department of Neurology (M.W., M.E., A.K., M.R., C.W., J.E.W., B.W., P.M.K., E.F., J.R., H.J.A.), Center for Stroke Research Berlin (M.E., M.R., B.W., H.J.A.), Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany; and Berliner Feuerwehr, Berlin, Germany (D.S.).
authors: Carolin
authors: C
authors: Waldschmidt
authors: From the Department of Neurology (M.W., M.E., A.K., M.R., C.W., J.E.W., B.W., P.M.K., E.F., J.R., H.J.A.), Center for Stroke Research Berlin (M.E., M.R., B.W., H.J.A.), Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany; and Berliner Feuerwehr, Berlin, Germany (D.S.).
authors: Joachim E
authors: JE
authors: Weber
authors: From the Department of Neurology (M.W., M.E., A.K., M.R., C.W., J.E.W., B.W., P.M.K., E.F., J.R., H.J.A.), Center for Stroke Research Berlin (M.E., M.R., B.W., H.J.A.), Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany; and Berliner Feuerwehr, Berlin, Germany (D.S.).
authors: Benjamin
authors: B
authors: Winter
authors: From the Department of Neurology (M.W., M.E., A.K., M.R., C.W., J.E.W., B.W., P.M.K., E.F., J.R., H.J.A.), Center for Stroke Research Berlin (M.E., M.R., B.W., H.J.A.), Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany; and Berliner Feuerwehr, Berlin, Germany (D.S.).
authors: Peter M
authors: PM
authors: Koch
authors: From the Department of Neurology (M.W., M.E., A.K., M.R., C.W., J.E.W., B.W., P.M.K., E.F., J.R., H.J.A.), Center for Stroke Research Berlin (M.E., M.R., B.W., H.J.A.), Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany; and Berliner Feuerwehr, Berlin, Germany (D.S.).
authors: Erik
authors: E
authors: Freitag
authors: From the Department of Neurology (M.W., M.E., A.K., M.R., C.W., J.E.W., B.W., P.M.K., E.F., J.R., H.J.A.), Center for Stroke Research Berlin (M.E., M.R., B.W., H.J.A.), Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany; and Berliner Feuerwehr, Berlin, Germany (D.S.).
authors: Jenrik
authors: J
authors: Reich
authors: From the Department of Neurology (M.W., M.E., A.K., M.R., C.W., J.E.W., B.W., P.M.K., E.F., J.R., H.J.A.), Center for Stroke Research Berlin (M.E., M.R., B.W., H.J.A.), Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany; and Berliner Feuerwehr, Berlin, Germany (D.S.).
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Schremmer
authors: From the Department of Neurology (M.W., M.E., A.K., M.R., C.W., J.E.W., B.W., P.M.K., E.F., J.R., H.J.A.), Center for Stroke Research Berlin (M.E., M.R., B.W., H.J.A.), Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany; and Berliner Feuerwehr, Berlin, Germany (D.S.).
authors: Heinrich J
authors: HJ
authors: Audebert
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000552:Ambulances; D004638:Emergency Treatment / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009462:Neurology / Q000379:methods; D010351:Patient Discharge; D020521:Stroke / Q000628:therapy*; D015912:Thrombolytic Therapy / Q000379:methods; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014187:Transportation of Patients / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014218:Triage / Q000379:methods*
keywords: ambulances; prehospital emergency care; stroke; triage