Background
This study evaluates the effect of a mass media intervention (MMI) on the number of
admissions to the emergency room (ER) with a suspected acute-onset stroke and on the
number of patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis (IVT). The MMI was run for
1 month, with a precampaign month, priming the treatment chain and raising in-hospital
awareness.
Methods
This study conducted a prospective analysis of all patients admitted to the ER before,
during, and after the MMI to assess changes in admission rate and IVT treatment rate.
The primary end point was to assess any change in the IVT treatment rate, and the
secondary end point was to determine the number of acute stroke admissions to the
ER within 4.5 hours of symptom onset.
Results
The MMI resulted in an increased IVT treatment rate from 7.3 to 11.3 patients per
month, an increment of 54% (P = .002). This also resulted in IVT treatment percentages as high as 42%. The number
of suspected acute stroke admissions to the ER increased from 37.3 to 72.8 patients
per month, a 97% increase (P < .0001). The Epinion interviews showed that stroke symptom recognition increased
from 66% to 75%.
Conclusion
The MMI produced a significant increase in IVT treatment rate. This increased treatment
rate is largely due to the increase in the number of acute stroke admissions to the
ER. Targeting the treatment chain before the MMI led to unprecedented IVT treatment
percentages. The effect of our MMI lasted for approximately 6 months before tapering
off; repeated campaigns are a prerequisite for sustained IVT treatment rates.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 24, 2016
Accepted:
February 19,
2016
Received in revised form:
February 1,
2016
Received:
December 6,
2015
Identification
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2016.02.026
Copyright
© 2016 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
