TY - JOUR
T1 - Sustainability of Intravenous Alteplase Administration via Telephone-Based Consult
T2 - Data from a US Health System
AU - Nelson, Sarah E.
AU - Aldrich, Eric M.
AU - Johnson, Brenda
AU - Groman, Susan
AU - Thompson, Richard E.
AU - Urrutia, Victor
N1 - Funding Information:
V.U. has received grant funding from Genentech, Inc. for investigator-sponsored trial OPTIMISTmain US and is site PI for TIMELESS (Genentech, Inc.). The other authors have no disclosures.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2022/4
Y1 - 2022/4
N2 - Objectives: Telephone-based consults using remote imaging review and standardization of evaluation but without visualizing the patient are an alternative to video-telestroke consults but are less well-studied. We aim to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of telephone-based acute consults in which IV tPA was administered over nearly a decade within one health system. Materials and Methods: Clinical characteristics and outcomes were compared between a community hospital (spoke; uses telephone-based consults) and the academic comprehensive stroke center (hub; uses oversight of on-site neurology trainees) from 2008-2017. In both institutions acute therapy decisions are made by the same stroke neurologists. Results: 2518 acute ischemic stroke consults were evaluated at hub and 2049 at spoke. Of these, 191 patients received IV tPA at hub and 184 at spoke. Patients at hub were younger (median (IQR): 61 (51-74) vs 69 (56-81) years, p = 0.0021) but admission National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was similar. There were no differences between door-to-needle times (69 (56-101) vs 69 (51-92) minutes, p = 0.13), last known well-to-tPA times (157 (113-202) vs 144 (110-175) minutes, p = 0.053), and rates of overall intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) after tPA (n = 23 (13.5%) vs 31 (17.0%), p = 0.35). In multivariable analyses, hospital was not an independent predictor of ICH after tPA. Conclusions: In a large dataset over nearly a decade, assessment for IV tPA administration using telephone assessment along with imaging review and emergency department standardization resulted in similar safety and outcomes as in the presence of on-site stroke/neurology expertise. Future studies are needed to confirm these findings
AB - Objectives: Telephone-based consults using remote imaging review and standardization of evaluation but without visualizing the patient are an alternative to video-telestroke consults but are less well-studied. We aim to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of telephone-based acute consults in which IV tPA was administered over nearly a decade within one health system. Materials and Methods: Clinical characteristics and outcomes were compared between a community hospital (spoke; uses telephone-based consults) and the academic comprehensive stroke center (hub; uses oversight of on-site neurology trainees) from 2008-2017. In both institutions acute therapy decisions are made by the same stroke neurologists. Results: 2518 acute ischemic stroke consults were evaluated at hub and 2049 at spoke. Of these, 191 patients received IV tPA at hub and 184 at spoke. Patients at hub were younger (median (IQR): 61 (51-74) vs 69 (56-81) years, p = 0.0021) but admission National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was similar. There were no differences between door-to-needle times (69 (56-101) vs 69 (51-92) minutes, p = 0.13), last known well-to-tPA times (157 (113-202) vs 144 (110-175) minutes, p = 0.053), and rates of overall intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) after tPA (n = 23 (13.5%) vs 31 (17.0%), p = 0.35). In multivariable analyses, hospital was not an independent predictor of ICH after tPA. Conclusions: In a large dataset over nearly a decade, assessment for IV tPA administration using telephone assessment along with imaging review and emergency department standardization resulted in similar safety and outcomes as in the presence of on-site stroke/neurology expertise. Future studies are needed to confirm these findings
KW - Alteplase
KW - Ischemic stroke
KW - Outcomes
KW - Telemedicine
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2022.106316
DO - 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2022.106316
M3 - Article
C2 - 35093632
AN - SCOPUS:85123630909
SN - 1052-3057
VL - 31
JO - Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases
JF - Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases
IS - 4
M1 - 106316
ER -