Stroke is an important disease. It can lead to death or permanent disability. A stroke is a medical emergency. Urgent treatment of a stroke is essential.
A stroke unit is an identifiable unit in a hospital. A stroke unit almost entirely is devoted to the urgent medical care of patients with an acute stroke. A stroke unit tries to restore perfusion to the brain as quickly as possible, by administering tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) to eligible patients as fast as possible.
A mobile stroke unit is an ambulance that has at least the most important functions of a stroke unit in a hospital. A patient with a suspected acute stroke can be examined, diagnosed, and evaluated in a mobile stroke unit, and the treatment can begin immediately.
In the year 2021, researchers performed a quasi-randomized clinical study to test whether stroke treatment in mobile stroke units improved clinical outcomes compared with the usual stroke care provided by the emergency medical services.
The result: In patients with acute stroke who were eligible for tPA, clinical outcomes at 90 days were better with mobile stroke units than with usual care.
In the future, mobile stroke units can play an important role, especially in areas where the population is not reasonably close to a hospital with a stroke unit.