title: Telestroke: variations in intravenous thrombolysis by spoke hospitals.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Telestroke extends stroke expertise to underserved hospitals and facilitates treatment with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). We investigated the variability in tPA treatment rates across 2 large telestroke networks-consisting of hubs at Georgia Regents Medical Center (GRMC) and Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and their affiliated spoke hospitals-to identify spoke-related factors predictive of greater tPA use.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational study of tPA treatment rate at 32 spoke hospitals within the GRMC and MUSC telestroke networks. Spokes were characterized by primary stroke center status, local stroke nurse coordinator, local neurology support, hospital size, post-tPA management strategy, whether the spoke hospitals paid to participate in the network, and whether the hub or the spoke hospital initially proposed the telemedicine linkage for consultations with a remote stroke specialist. Primary outcome was tPA treatment rate adjusted for emergency department (ED) volume.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was substantial variation in the adjusted tPA rate across spokes (range, .85-8.74 administrations/10(4) ED visits/year). Only spokes with a stroke nurse coordinator (4.75/10(4) ED visits/year versus 2.84/10(4) ED visits/year, P = .03) were associated with higher tPA use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The application of telestroke has variable results on tPA delivery in spoke hospitals. However, the presence of a stroke nurse coordinator at the spoke facilitated treatment of ischemic stroke cases with tPA.
authors: Department of Neurology, Medical College of Georgia, Georgia Regents University, Augusta, Georgia. Electronic address: jswitzer@gru.edu.
authors: Jeffrey A
authors: JA
authors: Switzer
authors: Department of Health Services Policy and Management, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.
authors: Rajendra
authors: R
authors: Singh
authors: Center for Process Innovation, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors: Lars
authors: L
authors: Mathiassen
authors: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Georgia Regents University, Augusta, Georgia.
authors: Jennifer L
authors: JL
authors: Waller
authors: Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina.
authors: Robert J
authors: RJ
authors: Adams
authors: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Georgia Regents University, Augusta, Georgia.
authors: David C
authors: DC
authors: Hess
mesh_terms: D061605:Administration, Intravenous; D005260:Female; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005845:Georgia; D006761:Hospitals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020521:Stroke / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods*; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator
keywords: Telemedicine; stroke; telestroke; tissue plasminogen activator