Diagnostic Accuracy in Teleneurological Stroke Consultations

• Published in: Journal of clinical medicine 2021-03, Vol.10 (6), p.1170
• Main Authors: Kühne Escolà, Jordi, Nagel, Simon, Verez Sola, Christina, Doroszewski, Eva, Jaschonek, Hannah, Gutschalk, Alexander, Gumbinger, Christoph, Purrucker, Jan C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accuracy; Audiovisual communications; Cerebrovascular disease; Clinical medicine; Etiology; Hospitals; Patients; Statistical analysis; Stroke; Telemedicine; Transient ischemic attack
• ISSN: 2077-0383; 2077-0383
• DOI: 10.3390/jcm10061170

The accuracy of diagnosing acute cerebrovascular disease via a teleneurology service and the characteristics of misdiagnosed patients are insufficiently known. A random sample ( = 1500) of all teleneurological consultations conducted between July 2015 and December 2017 was screened. Teleneurological diagnosis and hospital discharge diagnosis were compared. Diagnoses were then grouped into two main categories: cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and noncerebrovascular disease. Test characteristics were calculated. Out of 1078 consultations, 52% ( = 561) had a final diagnosis of CVD. Patients with CVD could be accurately identified via teleneurological consultation (sensitivity 95.2%, 95% CI 93.2-96.8), but we observed a tendency towards false-positive diagnosis (specificity 77.4%, 95% CI 73.6-80.8). Characteristics of patients with a false-negative CVD diagnosis were similar to those of patients with a true-positive diagnosis, but patients with a false-negative CVD diagnosis had ischemic heart disease less frequently. In retrospect, one patient would have been considered a candidate for intravenous thrombolysis (0.2%). Teleneurological consultations are accurate for identifying patients with CVD, and there is a very low rate of missed candidates for thrombolysis. Apart from a lower prevalence of ischemic heart disease, characteristics of "stroke chameleons" were similar to those of correctly identified CVD patients.