Stroke Nurse Activation Improves Time Metrics For Reperfusion In Acute Stroke Treatment

Background and aim: Shortening door-to-needle(DTN) and door-to-groin (DTG) times without compromising safety, is one of the major goals of reperfusion therapy. A pre-hospital Stroke Code(SC) activation leading to a direct transfer of patients to CT(CT-SC) or to Angio-suit(Angio-SC), bypassing emergency room(ER) in selected patients, has been implemented in our center. To ensure quality and continuous care in this hyperacute process, an expert stroke nurse from the stroke unit is recruited and involved in direct SC transfers. We aimed to assess the impact of the presence of an expert stroke nurse on reperfusion treatment metrics and the safety and feasibility of leaving the Stroke Unit to take care of the SC. Methods: Direct transfers after SC activation are performed when the arriving patient has RACE scoreu003e4 within u003c6h from symptoms onset. When information is incomplete or unclear the patient is evaluated in ER before CT(ER-SC). An expert stroke nurse is notified in direct SC transfers. Results: During 2...