Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32869194›Full record

Observational studyJournal of general internal medicine2020

Does Emergency Medical Services Transportation Mitigate Post-stroke Discharge Disability? A Prospective Observational Study.

Sudha Xirasagar, Yuqi Wu, Khosrow Heidari, Jiera Zhou, Meng-Han Tsai, James W Hardin, Robert Wronski, Dana Hurley, Edward C Jauch, Souvik Sen

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Journal of general internal medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Sudha XirasagarDepartment of Health Services Policy and Management, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA. sxirasagar@sc.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-9722-454X
Yuqi WuDepartment of Health Services Policy and Management, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
Khosrow HeidariSouth Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Columbia, SC, USA.
Jiera ZhouStatistics Collaborative, Inc., Washington, DC, USA.
Meng-Han TsaiDepartment of Health, Human Services and Public Policy, California State University-Monterey Bay, Seaside, CA, USA.
James W HardinDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
Robert WronskiBureau of Emergency Medical Services, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Columbia, SC, USA.
Dana HurleyGenentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA.
Edward C JauchHCA Healthcare, Mission Research Institute, Asheville, NC, USA.
Souvik SenPrisma Health Stroke Unit, Dept of Neurology, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWhether emergency medical services (EMS) transport improves disability outcomes compared with other transport among acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients is unknown.

objectiveTo study severity-adjusted associations of hospital arrival mode (EMS vs. other transport) with in-hospital and discharge disability outcomes.

designProspective observational study.

participantsAIS patients discharged April 2016 to October 2017 from a safety-net hospital in South Carolina. MAIN MEASURES: National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) change at discharge (admission NIHSS score minus discharge NIHSS, continuous variable), 24-h NIHSS change (attaining high improvement, admission NIHSS minus 24-h NIHSS being 75th percentile or higher), door to neuroimaging (DTI) time, and IV alteplase receipt. NIHSS change was assessed within stroke severity groups, mild, moderate, and severe (admission NIHSS 0-5, 6-14, and ≥ 15, respectively). KEY

resultsOf 1168 patients, 838 were study-eligible (52% male, 52.4% Black, 72.2% EMS arrivals, 56.6% mild strokes). Severe and moderate stroke patients were more likely than mild stroke patients to use EMS (adjusted odds ratios, AOR [95% CI] 11.7 [5.0, 27.4] and 4.0 [2.6, 6.3], respectively). EMS arrival was associated with shorter DTI time (adjusted difference - 88.4 min) and higher likelihood of alteplase administration (AOR 5.3 [2.5, 11.4]), both key mediating variables in disability outcomes. High 24-h NIHSS improvement was more likely for EMS arrivals vs. other arrivals among moderate strokes (AOR 3.4 [1.1, 10.9]) and severe strokes (AOR > 999). EMS arrivals had substantially higher NIHSS improvement at discharge within the severe stroke group (adjusted NIHSS change at discharge, 5.9 points higher, p = 0.01). Alteplase recipients showed higher discharge NIHSS improvement than non-recipients (by 2.8 and 1.9 points among severe and moderate strokes, respectively; p = 0.01, 0.02).

conclusionsThe findings offer evidence for including stroke education as a standard of care in the primary care management of patients with stroke-risk comorbidities/lifestyle in order to minimize post-stroke disability.

Indexed as

Brain IschemiaEmergency Medical ServicesStrokeDisability EvaluationFemaleHumansMalePatient DischargeSouth CarolinaTreatment Outcome24-h disability improvementacute ischemic strokedischarge disability outcomeemergency medical services use

Identifiers

PMID32869194
PMCPMC7661625

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.