Sex diffErences in prehoSpitAl Stroke MEdicine

Summary

Background: Stroke is a leading cause for individual, family and societal harm with huge health-economic impact. Immediate and correct prehospital acute stroke pathway initiation is key for treatment success.

Evidence points towards sex inequity in management pathways of acute stroke care. A complicating factor in acute stroke management is the diversity in clinical presentation among patients of different sex. This increases the challenges of correct prehospital identification.

Most of the currently available data on male and female differences in acute stroke management come from patients with hospital-confirmed stroke. Little to no information is available about sex-related management differences of patients with prehospital suspected stroke, often missed by stroke quality databases.

Objectives: To identify sex differences in EMS-delivered prehospital diagnostic accuracy and management of patients with suspected or confirmed acute stroke.

Methods: International project collaboration to conduct a cross-regional cohort analysis of patients with a prehospital working diagnosis of stroke and/or hospital-confirmed stroke diagnosis.

Relevance: More information and details about the reasons for a potential prehospital treatment inequity are a necessary next step for any improvement and subsequent development of structured training programmes for emergency medical service personnel. This project is the first large-scaled international collaboration addressing sex differences in prehospital stroke care. With this approach the project will not only lead to more urgently needed information, but will also serve as a lighthouse project for raising general awareness for this topic.

Conditions

• Stroke Acute
• Emergency Medical Services
• Sex Characteristics
• Prehospital Setting

Sponsors & Collaborators

• East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation

  collaborator OTHER

• Glasgow Caledonian University

  collaborator OTHER

• Assiut University

  collaborator OTHER

• The George Institute

  collaborator OTHER

• Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre

  collaborator OTHER

• Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein

  collaborator OTHER

• University Of Perugia

  collaborator OTHER

• University "Ss Cyril and Methodius", North Macedonia

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• 115 People's Hospital

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• Selçuk University

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark

  collaborator OTHER

• National University Hospital, Singapore

  collaborator OTHER

• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences, Mwanza, Tansania

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Universität des Saarlandes

  lead OTHER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-05-01

Primary Completion

2026-12-31

Completion

2026-12-31

Countries

• Germany

Study Locations