Upfront vascular imaging in acute stroke: Impact on thrombectomy transfer time at a primary stroke center.

Objectives: Early cerebral arterial imaging is currently only recommended in the subgroup of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients suspected of having large vessel occlusion (LVO). There is limited data on the impact of early cerebrovascular imaging in all suspected AIS patients presenting within 24 h of symptom onset and the impact on door in-door out (DIDO) time.

Materials And Methods: In January 2020, our Primary Stroke Center implemented a protocol to perform upfront head and neck CT angiography (CTA) with initial non-contrast CT head for all suspected ischemic stroke patients screening positive for BE-FAST stroke symptoms within 24 h from last known normal time.

Telemedicine impact on post-stroke outpatient follow-up in an academic healthcare network during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The expansion of telemedicine associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced outpatient medical care. The objective of our study was to determine the impact of telemedicine on post-acute stroke clinic follow-up.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the impact of telemedicine in Emory Healthcare, an academic healthcare system of comprehensive and primary stroke centers in Atlanta, Georgia, on post-hospital stroke clinic follow-up.