Identify stroke patients and optimize therapy

In the first 3 hours after onset of stroke, the speed of
emergency response is critical

  • Time taken to initiate thrombolytic treatment following the onset of stroke symptoms affects the extent of tissue damage and the possibility of recovery without impairment1
  • Patient selection, treatment, and evaluation guidelines or policy statements* have been set forth by a number of organizations and associations to help quickly2,3:
    • – Identify potential stroke patients
    • – Determine patient eligibility for various types of therapy
    • – Assess patients' short-term outcome after treatment

Click on the links below for more information on these guidelines and stroke evaluation scales.

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  • The F.A.S.T. system is designed to provide a quick prehospital stroke screening tool based on assessment of facial expression, arm movement, and speech function
  • If an abnormality exists in any of these areas—face, arms, speech—a stroke should be strongly suspected and the patient should be taken to the nearest certified stroke center
F.A.S.T. prehospital stroke screening tool

Patient counseling brochure

  • Explains the basics of stroke and presents the potential benefits of treatment with Activase (t-PA), and post-discharge rehabilitation

Patient counseling brochure

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National Institutes of Health (NIH) Stroke Scale

The NIH Stroke Scale is a standard assessment tool.

  • A measure of neurologic deficit, the NIH Stroke Scale can be used to quantify neurologic function in specified categories at various time points,3,4 such as:
    • – Admission (baseline), 2 hours after treatment, 24 hours after onset of symptoms, 7 to 10 days after hospital admission, or 3 months postadmission
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Stroke Scale

Download a convenient copy of the NIH Stroke Scale to use with your patients:

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Stroke assessment card ring

These laminated cards, held together with a single ring, are a crucial emergency department reference tool that includes:

  • NIH Stroke Scale and other stroke assessment scales
  • Protocols for ischemic stroke management
  • Guidelines for diagnostic evaluation

The compact cards can be tucked into a pocket or hung on a hook for easy access.

Stroke assessment card ring

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Treatment guidelines and consensus statements

To help facilitate patient selection and treatment, professional organizations—dedicated to the improvement of stroke patient outcomes—have published practice guidelines or consensus statements that address*:

  • Management of patients exhibiting signs and symptoms of acute ischemic stroke
  • Administration of Activase (t-PA) in eligible patients

Learn more

Genentech is neither affiliated with nor endorses any of these organizations.

  • *
  • Note: Each set of these protocols and guidelines represents only one possible approach to the treatment of eligible acute ischemic stroke patients. Individual healthcare practitioners and institutions must exercise professional judgment in creating or adopting treatment protocols or guidelines, as well as in the treatment of each individual patient.

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Indication: Activase is indicated for the management of acute ischemic stroke in adults for improving neurological recovery and reducing the incidence of disability. Treatment should only be initiated within 3 hours after the onset of stroke symptoms, and after exclusion of intracranial hemorrhage by a cranial computerized tomography (CT) scan or other diagnostic imaging method sensitive for the presence of hemorrhage (see CONTRAINDICATIONS in the full prescribing information).

Safety Information: All thrombolytic agents increase the risk of bleeding, including intracranial bleeding, and should be used only in appropriate patients. Not all patients with acute ischemic stroke will be eligible for Activase therapy, including patients with evidence of recent or active bleeding; recent (within 3 months) intracranial or intraspinal surgery, serious head trauma, or previous stroke; uncontrolled high blood pressure; or impaired blood clotting.


Please see full prescribing information.


References:
1.
Wahlgren N, Ahmed N, Dávalos A, et al. Thrombolysis with alteplase for acute ischaemic stroke in the safe implementation of thrombolysis in stroke-monitoring study (SITS-MOST): an observational study. Lancet. 2007;369:275-282.
2.
Mohd Nor A, McAllister C, Louw SJ, et al. Agreement between ambulance paramedic- and physician-recorded neurological signs with face arm speech test (FAST) in acute stroke patients. Stroke. 2004;35:1355-1359.
3.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke rt-PA Stroke Study Group. Recombinant tissue plasminogen activator for minor strokes: the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke rt-PA Stroke Study Experience. N Engl J Med. 1995;333:1581-1587.
4.
NIH Stroke Scale. Updated May 9, 2007. Available at: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/doctors/NIH_stroke_scale_training_htm. Accessed June 7, 2007.
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