Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41541881›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in stroke2025

Striving toward quality metrics for pediatric stroke: time from door to diagnosis.

Rachel Pearson, Nancy K Hills, Kellie Bacon, Shelby K Shelton, Rowena Roque, Tatiana Moreno, Maria Kuchherzki, Carl Schultz, Theodore W Heyming, Christine K Fox and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in stroke, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
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

11 authors.

Rachel PearsonRady Children's Health, Orange County, Orange, CA, United States.
Nancy K HillsDepartments of Neurology and Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.
Kellie BaconRady Children's Health, Orange County, Orange, CA, United States.
Shelby K SheltonRady Children's Health, Orange County, Orange, CA, United States.
Rowena RoqueRady Children's Health, Orange County, Orange, CA, United States.
Tatiana MorenoRady Children's Health, Orange County, Orange, CA, United States.
Maria KuchherzkiDepartments of Neurology and Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.
Carl SchultzUC Irvine School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.
Theodore W HeymingRady Children's Health, Orange County, Orange, CA, United States.
Christine K FoxDepartments of Neurology and Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.
Heather J FullertonDepartments of Neurology and Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background/Objective: Most pediatric stroke survivors suffer long-term impairments. To minimize injury, it is essential to quickly restore perfusion to viable brain tissue. Minimizing the time to stroke diagnosis requires recognition of a possible stroke by prehospital and emergency healthcare personnel, and rapid neuroimaging. While CT suffices for diagnosing hemorrhagic stroke, MRI is necessary to diagnose acute ischemic stroke (IS), contributing to significant diagnostic delays and potentially missed opportunities for intervention. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of children 1-14 years old with acute neurological symptoms presenting by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to the study institution from 1/2019-6/2023. We described patient characteristics and neuroimaging studies, then evaluated predictors of MRI acquisition and actionable findings, including stroke. To assess the generalizability of these data we analyzed a secondary retrospective cohort of all children admitted during this period with out-of-hospital strokes regardless of presentation modality [EMS, emergency department (ED) walk-in, and transfer]. Results: Among 3,888 pediatric patients with acute neurological symptoms presenting via EMS, 695 (17.9%) had neuroimaging: CT only in 570 patients (14.7%); CT and MRI in 125 (3.2%). Median (IQR) times from EMS activation to neuroimaging were 2.29 (1.56, 3.21) hours for CT and 26.8 (16.3, 43.8) hours for MRI. An EMS primary impression of "stroke" was rare ( Conclusion: Among children with acute neurological symptoms selected for neuroimaging, CT was the most common modality while MRIs were performed with a substantial time delay. While EMS providers rarely suspected stroke, their diagnosis impacted imaging decisions in the ED, suggesting a need to raise awareness among prehospital providers. To measure quality improvement in pediatric stroke, new pediatric-specific metrics like "door to diagnosis" time, should be further explored.

Indexed as

acute stroke carepediatric strokeprehospital/EMSstroke care pathwaysstroke diagnosis

Identifiers

PMID41541881
PMCPMC12802760

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LicenceCC BY
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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.