A novel hospital alert called “STRAUMA” (a dual stroke alert and trauma activation) allows patients with stroke symptoms to be quickly assessed for traumatic injuries, without delaying the time to imaging of the brain and life-saving treatment. Research findings were presented at the virtual American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2021.
Stroke is the fifth-leading cause of death in the U.S. Symptoms of stroke—weakness of one side of the body, dizziness and loss of balance, trouble seeing, and confusion—come on suddenly and can cause a fall or traumatic injury. An intravenous drug called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is used to dissolve the clot causing an ischemic stroke, the most common type. If a patient, however, is bleeding due to a serious injury, the drug may be harmful.
“The novel STRAUMA activation allows for an expedited evaluation of both stroke and trauma to facilitate timely administration of life-saving interventions,” said lead study author Janet Lee, MD, a fourth-year surgical resident at UCHealth Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs, Colorado. “Before administering tPA for the treatment of stroke, we want to rule out any injuries such as severe head trauma, intracranial hemorrhage, or bleeding risk that could cause catastrophic bleeding.”
