Treatment of Stroke in the Emergency Department
In order to provide acute stroke patients the best opportunity for full recovery when presenting to an emergency department with signs and symptoms of acute stroke, immediate recognition of their condition as well as immediate brain imaging and consultation with a stroke specialist (neurologist or endovascular neurosurgeon) is required. Treatments for acute stroke including intravascular TPA or endovascular thrombectomy are time-sensitive and only beneficial if provided early in the course of the stroke. Delay in diagnosis not only prevents the opportunity to provide these treatments, but also prevents the early institution of other therapies, such as permissive hypertension, maintenance of normothermia, and administration of antiplatelet medications, that may help to lessen the severity of the stroke by preserving brain tissue that has sustained some damage.