STROKE-STROKE UNIT CHARACTERISTICS

SUMMARY

1. Admission within 4.5 hours.

2. Proven to reduce morbidity and mortality for all stroke subtypes and severities; NNT for mortality = 33, dependency = 20 (Cochrane review).

3. “Black box” of interested, experienced team of practitioners in a defined location.

4. Less complications: DVT, pneumonia, pressure areas.

5. At admission specify: intermittent pneumatic compression for DVT prophylaxis & fast (including no oral meds) until swallow assessment completed.

Reference(s)

Wilkinson, I., Furmedge, D. and Sinharay, R. (2017). Oxford handbook of clinical medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Get it on Amazon.
Feather, A., Randall, D. and Waterhouse, M. (2020). Kumar And Clark’s Clinical Medicine. 10th ed. S.L.: Elsevier Health Sciences. Get it on Amazon.
Hannaman, R. A., Bullock, L., Hatchell, C. A., & Yoffe, M. (2016). Internal medicine review core curriculum, 2017-2018. CO Springs, CO: MedStudy.
Therapeutic Guidelines. Melbourne: Therapeutic Guidelines Limited. https://www.tg.org.au [Accessed 2021].