CT-equipped, teleradiology-backed mobile stroke units bolster outcomes over traditional ambulances
Mobile stroke units—equipped with CT scanners and backed by teleradiologists—can help improve patient outcomes when compared to conventional ambulances, according to a study published Tuesday in JAMA.
Analyzing outcomes among 1,543 patients treated for ischemic stroke, experts found that administering thrombolysis in such vehicles, versus waiting until arriving at the hospital, lowered an individual’s risk of disability three months later. Future investigations could explore the cost effectiveness of mobile stroke units, but German scientists believe there’s a strong case for this intervention.
“In this prospective, nonrandomized, controlled intervention study of patients with acute ischemic stroke in Berlin, Germany, the dispatch of mobile stroke units, compared with conventional ambulances alone, was significantly associated with lower global disability at three months,” Martin Ebinger, MD, with the Center for Stroke Research Berlin, and colleagues wrote Feb. 2.
Researchers conducted the analysis between February 2017 and October 2019. As part of the effort, if an emergency call prompted suspicion of a stroke, both a conventional ambulance and MSU were deployed. Ebinger and colleagues compared functional outcomes for patients—with a final diagnosis of acute cerebral ischemia, who were eligible for thrombolysis or thrombectomy—treated via stroke unit (749) versus a typical ambulance alone (794).
Bottom line: Patients treated via MSU had lower median disability scores at month three, , based on the modified Rankin Scale, versus patients not treated by the unit. Plus, the rate of thrombolysis was higher, and the median dispatch-to-thrombolysis time was lower among patients with an MSU dispatch compared to the other group.
You can read more about the findings in JAMA here.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.