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The Impact of a Helicopter Emergency Medical System on Prognosis in Stroke Patients

NCT02576379 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 1068

Last updated 2016-07-11

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability, and 15 million people suffer a stroke each year; one-third die and one-third are left permanently disabled. Because the risk of stroke increases with age, it has been considered a disease of the elderly, but stroke also occurs in middle-aged people.

Thrombolysis with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is the preferred choice of reperfusion therapy of ischemic stroke if performed within 4.5 hours from symptom onset. Time to thrombolysis is associated with improved outcome: the sooner the treatment, the less risk of serious - and possibly permanent - damage to the brain. Unfortunately, only a small fraction of stroke patients make it to thrombolysis within the 4.5-hour; one explanation may be system delays including prolonged transportation.

In May 2010, the first physician-staffed Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) was implemented in the Eastern part of Denmark. An observational study evaluating the short-term effects of HEMS implementation compared patients transported by conventional ground ambulance (Ground Emergency Medical Service (GEMS)) to patients transported by HEMS. Patients transported by helicopter had increased time to specialized care. However, both 30-day and 1-year mortality was slightly lower in patients transported by HEMS, although not significant, as was the degree of disability at three months measured by the modified Rankin Scale (mRS).

Conditions

  • Thrombolysis

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Rigshospitalet, Denmark

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Kamilia S. Funder, MD · Department of Anesthesia, Center of Head and Orthopedics, section 4231, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet

  • Jacob Steinmetz, MD, PhD · Department of Anesthesia, Center of Head and Orthopedics, section 4231, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet

Eligibility

Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2010-01-31
Primary Completion
2015-05-31
Completion
2015-05-31

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT02576379 on ClinicalTrials.gov