Exclusive bed for thrombolysis. A simple measure that allows 85% of ischemic stroke patients to be treated in the first hour

• Published in: Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria 2016-05, Vol.74 (5), p.373-375
• Main Authors: Tansini, Gabriella, Ducci, Renata Dal-Prá, Nóvak, Edison Matos, Germiniani, Francisco Manoel Branco, Zétola, Viviane Flumignan, Lange, Marcos Christiano
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: acidente vascular cerebral; Beds; Early Medical Intervention; Emergency Service, Hospital - organization & administration; Fibrinolytic Agents - therapeutic use; Humans; neurologia; NEUROSCIENCES; Patient Selection; PSYCHIATRY; Stroke - drug therapy; terapia trombolítica; Thrombolytic Therapy - instrumentation; Thrombolytic Therapy - methods; Time-to-Treatment - organization & administration; tratamento
• ISSN: 0004-282X; 1678-4227; 1678-4227; 0004-282X
• DOI: 10.1590/0004-282X20160048

ABSTRACT The door-to-needle time is an important goal to reduce the time to treatment in intravenous thrombolysis. Objective Analyze if the inclusion of an exclusive thrombolytic bed reduces the door-to-needle time. Method One hundred and fifty patients admitted for neurological evaluation with ischemic stroke were separated in two groups: in the first, patients were admitted in the Emergency Room for intravenous thrombolysis (ER Group); in the second, patients were admitted in an exclusive thrombolytic bed in the general neurology ward (TB Group). Results Sixty-eight (86.0%) patients from TB Group were treated in the first 60 minutes of arrival as compared to 48 (67.6%) in the ER Group (p = 0.011). Conclusion The introduction of a thrombolytic bed in a general hospital setting can markedly reduce the door-to-needle time, allowing more than 85% of patients to be treated within the first hour of admission.