Alex Martin

• MBBS
• Pre-hospital assessment of stroke patients by paramedics

Stroke is a medical emergency.  Thrombolysis is the recommended treatment of suitable cases within 4.5 hours of onset. Paramedics should identify stroke using the Face Arm Speech Test (FAST) and document information relevant to suitability for thrombolysis. However, no system of pre-hospital assessment for thrombolysis eligibility currently exists. The aim of this project was to describe how to improve this assessment. The study found that paramedics do not routinely gather information for thrombolysis eligibility. Training in a simple structured approach of performing a FAST, assessing onset time, enquiring about anticoagulant medication and taking a medical history may improve stroke assessment.

Funding source: Newcastle University