Stroke victims get faster “door-to-CT” time when departments communicate effectively, especially when emergency medical staff is called while the patient is en route to the hospital.
Stroke victims get faster "door-to-CT" time when departments communicate effectively, especially when emergency medical staff is called while the patient is en route to the hospital.
The top three medical killers in U.S. -- heart disease, cancer, and stroke -- kill 700,000 people annually. Time is paramount in triaging acute stroke patients receiving intravenous thrombolysis, which must be performed within the "golden time," or three hours of the onset of symptoms. CT examination is a critical aspect of triage.
The study, conducted at the stroke center of the Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, NY, surveyed 263 patients during 2007. Most of the patients were 66 to 85 years old, and most had suffered ischemic strokes.
Brief physician assessment, utilizing the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, was considered instrumental to activating Nassau's multidisciplinary stroke team. Twenty-four-hour radiology coverage is available, and the CT scanner is cleared upon alert.
Some 76% of the 54 patients who arrived within three hours were evaluated within 10 minutes. In five of the 54 cases in which emergency medical staff was notified while the patient was being transported, door-to-doctor time was reduced to less than three minutes.
All patients who were given IV tissue plasminogen activator met the 25 minute door-to-CT and 45-minute door-to-interpretation recommended times.
Along with notifying emergency medical staff during patient transport, quality assurance "drill downs" were named as essential elements in expediting care for stroke patients.
Could Virtual Non-Contrast Images from Photon-Counting CT Reduce Radiation Dosing with CCTA?
March 28th 2024Emerging research on coronary artery calcium scoring for the assessment of coronary artery disease (CAD) suggests the use of virtual non-contrast images from photon-counting CT may lead to a nearly 20 percent reduction in radiation dosing.
The Reading Room: Artificial Intelligence: What RSNA 2020 Offered, and What 2021 Could Bring
December 5th 2020Nina Kottler, M.D., chief medical officer of AI at Radiology Partners, discusses, during RSNA 2020, what new developments the annual meeting provided about these technologies, sessions to access, and what to expect in the coming year.
FDA Clears Mobile C-Arm Device that May Accelerate Fluoroscopic and 3D CT Imaging
March 21st 2024Offering ease of mobility and self-driving capabilities, the Ciartic Move C-arm device reportedly reduces the stress and potential for error associated with manual repositioning during intraoperative imaging with computed tomography and fluoroscopy.