“Telestroke”

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Abstract
Background—Time is of the essence for effective intervention in acute ischemic stroke. Efforts including stroke teams that are “on call” around-the-clock are emerging to reduce the time from emergency room arrival to evaluation and treatment. Summary of Comment—Based on the results of the NINDS rt-PA Stroke Trial, which demonstrated both clinical effectiveness in reducing neurological deficits and disability and cost savings to health care systems, many community hospitals and managed-care organizations are exploring methods to enhance and expedite acute stroke care in their local communities. Only a small fraction of acute stroke victims is currently treated with thrombolytics (<1.5% nationally), and few benefit from the expertise and experience of the stroke teams. It is essential to develop new paradigms to improve acute stroke care in all settings, rural and urban. Rapid linkages to expert stroke care can help the underserved areas. Telemedicine for stroke, “Telestroke,” uses state-of-the-art video te...