Mobile Stroke

SEATTLE — Mobile stroke units were linked with improved outcomes compared with conventional emergency medical services for people with acute ischemic stroke, a presenter said at the 2022 American Academy of Neurology annual meeting.

Mobile stroke units were found to be cost-effective for tissue plasminogen activator-eligible patients, especially for those with no baseline disability, a speaker reported.

Compared with standard care, use of mobile units sharply increased the odds of positive outcomes and reduced treatment times for acute ischemic stroke, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in JAMA Neurology.

Among patients with stroke who presented early after symptom onset, those treated by a mobile stroke unit were more functionally independent at 90 days compared with those treated with the “drip and ship” method, researchers reported.

The dispatch of mobile stroke units resulted in lower global disability at 3 months compared with conventional ambulances among patients who experienced an acute ischemic stroke, according to findings published in JAMA.

In Berlin, mobile stroke units equipped with CT for prehospital thrombolysis not only reduced time to treatment, but had higher rates of thrombolysis and reduced risk for disability and death in patients experiencing stroke.