Locations:
Search IconSearch
January 26, 2018/Neurosciences/Research

Experience Brings Heightened Efficiency to Mobile Stroke Unit, Study Shows (Video)

Door-to-needle time improved by 26 percent from 2014 to 2017

Mobile stroke unit teams become more efficient and effective over time. That’s the implication of an analysis of Cleveland Clinic’s experience with its mobile stroke unit (MSU) over the three and a half years since its launch in July 2014 as one of the nation’s first such specialized ambulances for patients with suspected acute stroke.

Advertisement

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy

The analysis, presented at the 2018 International Stroke Conference in Los Angeles, compares care process measures between the first 100 patients evaluated on the MSU in 2014 and 100 consecutive patients evaluated on the MSU in mid-2017. The groups were comparable in age and initial median NIH Stroke Scale score, and thrombolysis was used in 16 percent of patients in both cohorts.

Despite these similarities, care was consistently delivered more swiftly in the 2017 cohort, with statistically significant reductions from 2014 in median door-to-needle time, door-to-CT completion/read times, alarm-to-thrombolysis time and other measures. For example, median door-to-needle time dropped from 31 minutes in 2014 to 23 minutes in 2017 — a 26 percent improvement.

Coinvestigator Andrew Russman, DO, puts the study in context in the short video below, with some insights for others considering or launching MSUs of their own.

Advertisement

Related Articles

hand of a person doing a crossword puzzle
March 13, 2025/Neurosciences/Research
Novel Tool Assesses Dynamic Neurocognitive Adaptation Across a Lifetime

Validated scale provides a method for understanding how lifestyle may protect against Alzheimer's

brain illustration with a focused inset section labeled "LCN"
February 25, 2025/Neurosciences/Research
Deep Brain Stimulation for Brain Injury Rehab: Do Benefits Continue After Neurostimulation Stops?

Promising preclinical research indicates functional motor recovery is durable

woman in red shirt standing beside a sign for clinical study recruitment
February 20, 2025/Neurosciences/Research
The Cleveland Clinic Brain Study at 3 Years: Initial Insights, Surprises and Next Steps

A principal investigator of the landmark longitudinal study shares interesting observations to date

Medical illustration of brain
January 6, 2025/Neurosciences/Research
Department of Defense Awards $3.4 Million to Advance a Tool for Assessing Return-to-Duty Readiness After Brain Injury

Cleveland Clinic researchers collaborate with Microsoft to create a product ready for the field

Illustration of a brain
November 6, 2024/Neurosciences/Research
Genomic Analysis Finds Connections Between Transposable Elements and Alzheimer's Disease

Understanding TE involvement is a key to developing new treatments

Man on an exercise bicycle
October 29, 2024/Neurosciences/Research
New Parkinson’s Trial Focuses on Interplay Between Exercise and Genetics

Study aims to inform an enhanced approach to exercise as medicine

researcher in dark laboratory
September 12, 2024/Neurosciences/Research
Preclinical Imaging Research Aims to Help Refine Deep Brain Stimulation for Stroke Recovery

$3.2 million grant will fund use of calcium-based imaging to record neuronal activity in ischemia model

neurons, axons and synapses in the brain
September 5, 2024/Neurosciences/Research
A Case Study in Neurotherapeutic Clinical Trial Design and Conduct

New phase 1 trial showcases Neurological Institute’s interdisciplinary study capabilities

Ad