Stroke Scale Utilization in Assessing Thrombolytic Eligibility

Course overview

Strokes, whether new or recurrent, affect about 700,000 Americans every year. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and the number one cause of adult disability. With more than a million hospitalizations occurring in the U.S. each year, the importance of stroke as a major cause of morbidity and mortality cannot be overemphasized. Developments in the area of thrombolytic administration in early stroke management have led to much controversy about lytic therapy and a striking difference in stroke management in hospitals across the country. The literature has made it clear that the medical community should be providing better care for stroke victims across the full spectrum of stroke management. In this activity, we provide an in-depth review of the administration of the NIH Stroke Scale and the modified NIH Stroke Scale and the assessment of thrombolytic eligibility using the FDA-approved indications and contraindications for tPA administration. We present several cases and provide practitioners with the opportunity to practice assigning a stroke scale score and determining whether or not a patient is a candidate for thrombolytic therapy. After completing this activity, practitioners should be able to: apply an evidence-based stroke scale, such as the NIH Stroke Scale or the modified NIH Stroke Scale, to determine eligibility for thrombolytic agents for patients presenting with stroke in order to provide timely and appropriate stroke management; assess the current indications and contraindications for the use of thrombolytic agents in the management of stroke patients; and create or modify an existing stroke management protocol to include the use of a stroke scale to assist in determining eligibility for thrombolytic agents in patients presenting with stroke in order to provide timely and appropriate stroke management.