Prehospital Stroke Care Part 1: Emergency Medical Services and the Stroke Systems of Care

Acute stroke care begins before hospital arrival, and several prehospital factors are critical in influencing overall patient care and poststroke outcomes. This topical review provides an overview of the state of the science on prehospital components of stroke systems of care and how emergency medical services systems may interact in the system to support acute stroke care. Topics include layperson recognition of stroke, prehospital transport strategies, networked stroke care, systems for data integration and real-time feedback, and inequities that exist within and among systems.

Automated summary

Prehospital factors play a critical role in acute stroke care and patient outcomes. This review discusses the current state of prehospital components of stroke systems of care, including layperson recognition of stroke, transport strategies, networked care, data integration, and inequities within systems.