Rapid Response System for In-Hospital Large Vessel Occlusion: A Case-Control Study.

Objective: Acute ischemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion (LVO) in hospitalized patients is relatively rare but important condition. However, unlike community-onset cases, there are only few time-saving protocols for in-hospital LVO. This study aimed to evaluate the time-saving effects of rapid response system (RRS) for the management of in-hospital LVO.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated consecutive in-hospital LVO patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy (MT) between April 2015 and January 2020. In November 2017, we added "acute hemiparesis, eye deviation, and convulsive seizures" to the activation criteria for RRS. In this protocol, the patient is immediately transported from the ward to the emergency room (ER) by Medical Emergency Team (MET). The stroke team can then start assessment in the same manner as for community-onset cases. The time metrics between those with and without RRS intervention were compared. The primary outcome was time from detection to the first assessment by stroke team and to initial CT. To investigate the validity of the revised criteria, we also analyzed all RRS-activated cases.

Results: In total, 26 patients (RRS group, 11 patients; non-RRS group, 15 patients) were included. The median time from detection to stroke team assessment (10.0 [interquartile range: IQR, 8-15] minutes vs 65.5 [18-89] minutes) and to CT (22.0 [16-31] minutes vs. 46.5 [35-93] minutes) were significantly shorter in the RRS group. RRS was activated in 34 patients (mean, 1.3/month) according to the added criteria, of whom 20 (58.8%) had cerebral infarction and 9 underwent MT. About two-thirds of the other patients developed neurological emergencies (e.g., epileptic seizure, syncope, or hypoglycemia) that required acute care.

Conclusion: RRS has the potential to shorten response time efficiently in the management of in-hospital LVO. Prompt transportation of the patient to the ER by MET enables faster intervention by the stroke team.