Revision of Gunma prehospital stroke life support course in response to progress in treatment methods for cerebral infarction and enforcement of the basic law for measures against stroke and cardiovascular disease

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: In Gunma Prefecture, Japan, we have continued to improve the quality of emergency medical services by organizing prehospital stroke life support courses (PSLS), clarifying hospitals where tissue plasminogen activator can be administered, and conducting a post-hoc verification of stroke victims transported by emergency medical services. The Basic Law for Measures against Stroke and Cardiovascular Diseases came into effect in Japan on December 1, 2019. We revised the PSLS course to respond to this law and examined the current issues.

RESULTS: The sensitivity and specificity of the emergency department’s assessment of stroke were 82.5% and 97.2%, respectively, and the emergent large vessel occlusion (ELVO) screen was introduced as a measure to keep up with advances in stroke treatment methods. The large vessel occlusion screen training and the latest version of the PSLS course, which included the ELVO screen training session, also showed a significant improvement in test results after the course.

CONCLUSION: The latest version of the course is responsive to the advances in stroke treatment methods and the implementation of the law, and there is strong evidence that the same material could be used to provide small group training conducted by supervising emergency medical technicians during the new coronavirus epidemic period.