While the approach adds a few minutes for time to CT, there was no impact on start of treatment<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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WEDNESDAY, Nov. 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) — The novel STRAUMA alert activation allows for expedited evaluation of both stroke and trauma, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Surgeons, held virtually from Oct. 23 to 27.<\/p>\n
Janet S. Lee, M.D., from the University of Colorado in Aurora, and colleagues evaluated the impact of the STRAUMA alert, a combined stroke and highest-level trauma activation for patients with suspected cerebrovascular accident and signs of trauma, on patient outcomes. The analysis included a retrospective review of 580 patients with signs of cerebrovascular accident from January 2019 to September 2020 (111 had a STRAUMA alert and 469 had a stroke alert).<\/p>\n
The researchers found that The STRAUMA group had a higher National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score (NIHSS). The stroke group had a shorter time to computed tomography (CT; 16.9 versus 23.1 minutes) and a higher rate of tissue plasminogen activator administration (tPA; 27.3 versus 12.5 percent). Time to tPA was similar in both groups. Traumatic injury was seen in 15 percent of the STRAUMA group, with a median injury severity score of 9 in those with injuries. The STRAUMA group had higher mortality (14.4 versus 6.0 percent). NIHSS and time to CT were identified as predictors of mortality.<\/p>\n
“It’s all about risk versus benefit,” said Lee in a statement. “The risk of patients with trauma getting tPA and having catastrophic bleeding outweighs the risk of a slight delay in CT scanning. And our results ultimately show that in all patients who did get tPA, no differences were seen in time-to-tPA.”<\/p>\n
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