脳卒中病院前救護

抄録

Stroke is the fourth most common cause of death in Japan and a significant cause of chronic disability. Delayed hospital arrival has been considered as the most significant prehospital barrier to acute stroke management. In order to reduce the time from stroke onset to arrival at the hospital, patients need to recognize stroke symptoms immediately, activate medical services, and emergency medical services (EMS) play critical roles in reducing prehospital delays and ensuring timely stroke treatment. Prehospital delay between stroke onset and hospital arrival is an ongoing problem. A widely held assumption that public stroke education by mass media, school education, helps potentially to increase public awareness of stroke warning signs will lead to earlier recognition, activation of EMS, and reduced prehospital delay. A variety of prehospital stroke scale and protocol have been developed to assist EMS to improve prehospital care and the accuracy of diagnosis of stroke. Public stroke campaigns should not only inform the public about stroke symptoms in order to ensure people act appropriately, but should also focus on increasing public awareness about the fact that an effective treatment exists. EMS education program, community outreach, and standardized protocols for acute stroke is warranted.