Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Harold P. Adams, Chair; Gregory del Zoppo, Vice-Chair, Mark J. Alberts, Deepak L Bhatt, Lawrence Brass, Anthony Furlan, Robert L. Grubb, Randy Higashida, Edward C. Jauch, Chelsea Kidwell, Patrick D. Lyden, Lewis B. Morgenstern, Adnan I. Qureshi, Robert H. Rosenwasser, Philip A. Scott, Eelco FM Wijdicks
Introduction
This slide set was adapted from the AHA/ASA Guidelines for the Early Management of Adults with Ischemic Stroke From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Stroke Council, Clinical Cardiology Council, Cardiovascular Radiology and Intervention Council, and the Atherosclerotic Peripheral Vascular Disease and Quality of Care Outcomes in Research Interdisciplinary Working Groups
The American Academy of Neurology affirms the value of this guideline as an educational tool for neurologists.
The full-text guidelines are available on the Web site of the AHA (www.americanheart.org)
Introduction Contd
Since the 2003 AHA Stroke Council guidelines, evidence has been published to further refine the approach to the patient with acute ischemic stroke.
In some cases, where supportive evidence from clinical trials was not available, the panel made a specific recommendation on the basis pathophysiology and expert practice experience.
Prehospital Contd
New: To increase the number of patients who are treated, educational programs for physicians, hospital personnel, and EMS personnel also are recommended (Class I, Level B) New : Brief assessment by EMS personnel are recommended (Class I, Level B)
New :The use of a stroke algorithm is encouraged (Class I, Level B)
Prehospital Contd
New: The panel recommends that EMS personnel begin the initial management of stroke in the field (Class I, Level B) New : The development of stroke protocols to be used by EMS personnel is strongly encouraged. Patients should be transported rapidly for evaluation and treatment to the closest institution that provides emergency stroke care as described in the statement (Class I, Level B)
New: Telemedicine can be an effective method to extend acute stroke care to rural areas. (Class IIb, Level B)
Emergency Diagnosis and Management Contd An ECG is recommended (Class I, Level B) Basic blood tests are recommended (Class I, Level B)
New: Multimodal CT and MRI may provide additional information that will improve diagnosis of ischemic stroke (Class I, Level A)
New: Vascular imaging studies should not delay treatment of acute stroke patients whose symptoms started <3 hours ago (Class III, Level B)
New: Hypoglycemia should be treated in patients with acute ischemic stroke (Class I, Level C). Marked elevations in blood glucose should be avoided.
New: Use of IV fibrinolytics other than tPA (reteplase, tenecteplase, etc) outside a clinical trial in NOT recommended. (Class III, Level C)
Urgent anticoagulation is NOT recommended for moderate to severe strokes because of an increased risk of serious intracranial hemorrhage. (Class III, Level A) Initiation of anticoagulant therapy within 24 h of IV rtPA is NOT recommended. (Class III, Level B)
Medications such as pentoxifylline are NOT recommended for patients with acute ischemic stroke (Class III, Level A)
No Surgical Recommendations
Safety and effectiveness data about surgical interventions for patients with acute ischemic stroke are insufficient to make recommendations
Summary
These guidelines provide comprehensive and timely evidence-based recommendations.
There is an intent to fully update the guidelines every three years, with updates encouraged when pivotal studies are published.