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. 2012 Oct;29(10):848-50.
doi: 10.1136/emermed-2011-200150. Epub 2011 Aug 17.

Feasibility study to assess the use of the Cincinnati stroke scale by emergency medical dispatchers: a pilot study

Prasanthi Govindarajan  1 , Natalie T Desouza, Jessica Pierog, David Ghilarducci, S Claiborne Johnston
Affiliations

Feasibility study to assess the use of the Cincinnati stroke scale by emergency medical dispatchers: a pilot study

Prasanthi Govindarajan et al. Emerg Med J. 2012 Oct.

Abstract

The emergency medical dispatcher (EMD) receiving a call via 911 is the first point of contact within the acute care system and plays an important role in early stroke recognition. Published studies show that the diagnostic accuracy of stroke of EMD needs to be improved. Therefore, the National Association of Emergency Medical Dispatchers implemented a stroke diagnostic tool modelled after the Cincinnati stroke scale across 3000 cities worldwide. This is the first time a diagnostic tool that requires callers to test physical findings and report those back to the EMD has been implemented. However, the ability of EMD and 911 callers to use this in real time has not been reported. The goal of this pilot study was to determine the feasibility of an EMD applying the Cincinnati stroke scale tool during a 911 call, and to report the time required to administer the tool.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: None

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Card 28 protocol in the Medical Priority Dispatch Systems Protocol used by emergency medical dispatchers
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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