E-Mail Is an Effective Tool for Rapid Feedback in Acute Stroke

Nursing and Institutional Responsibilities for In-Hospital Stroke

In-hospital stroke events occur less often than stroke outside of a health care facility; yet, the need for timely evaluation and treatment is the same regardless of geographic location. During hospitalization, nurses are generally the first to recognize possible symptoms of stroke and activate emergency protocols. Such actions in response to changes in patient condition are critical to optimal patient outcomes. A recent scientific statement from the American Heart Association notes that patients with in-hospital stroke are likely to experience delayed recognition of symptoms, less likely to receive intravenous thrombolysis therapy, and have worse outcomes compared with community-occurring stroke. The aim of this article is to expand upon that scientific statement to assist nurses and acute care hospitals in the United States and elsewhere with similar health care systems to create evidence-based, nurse-driven protocols for in-hospital stroke recognition and management.

Effect of multi-level stroke education on treatment and prognosis of acute ischemic stroke

This observational study aimed at the significance of multi-level education in the treatment and prognosis of acute ischemic stroke. Multi-level stroke education was carried out among residents and medical staff for one year in Guancheng district. After 1 year, 519 patients with acute ischemic stroke admitted to The First People's Hospital of Zhengzhou were invited to the study, 272 patients from the Guancheng district were divided into the experimental group, and 247 patients who were not from the Guancheng district but in the neighborhood of The First People's Hospital of Zhengzhou were divided into the control group. Statistical methods were applied to analyze the degree of awareness of stroke, the time from onset to hospital, the route to hospital, the number of patients coming to the hospital within 4.5 h, the number of intravenous thrombolysis, door-to-needle time (DNT), modified Rankin scale (MRS) score, and the number of hemorrhagic transformation cases. After one year of multi-level systematic stroke education, there were significant differences in stroke awareness between the experimental group and the control group in terms of limb weakness (87.87 vs. 62.75%), speech inarticulation (78.3 vs. 55.06%), facial paralysis (69.12 vs. 38.06%), limb numbness (57.35 vs. 29.15%), consciousness disorder (62.50 vs. 42.11%), walking instability with severe dizziness (39.97 vs. 15.79%) (P<0.05). There was no statistical significant difference in unclear vision or blind eyes or severe headache (P>0.05). There were statistical differences between the two groups in the time from the onset to the hospital (14.82±17.67 vs. 25.92±25.23), emergency medical services (EMS) (36.02 vs. 16.19%), number of patients coming to the hospital within 4.5 h (67 vs. 32), venous thrombolysis cases (55 vs. 17), DNT time (42.43±17.30 vs. 63.35±26.53), hemorrhagic transformation cases (11 vs. 21), and MRS score grade ≥2 (230 vs. 169) (P<0.05). Multi-level education can effectively improve the patient's awareness of stroke, encourage more patients to use EMS system to the hospital. More patients were aware that they should reach the hospital within 4.5 h. It helps shorten DNT time and give more patients the opportunity to receive intravenous thrombolysis or intravascular thrombectomy, which may improve the prognosis and reduce hemorrhagic transformation without reducing mortality.