Effects on Stroke Metrics and Outcomes of a Nurse-led Stroke Triage Team in Acute Stroke Management.

Background Timely administration of healthcare in acute stroke, congruent with national stroke metrics, relates to better patient outcomes. A nurse-led stroke triage team instituted at our facility was hypothesized to improve metrics and outcomes. To evaluate the effect of the nurse-led stroke triage team we compared specific stroke metrics and patient outcomes before and after the program initiation.  Methods In retrospective review, we analyzed stroke metrics one year prior to the start of the triage program (controls) and one year after the start of the program (cases), including the following metrics: patient arrival, emergency department assessment, neurology contact, head computed tomography (CT) scan, and delivery of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) or puncture for mechanical thrombectomy. Primary outcome measures were improved metric times.  Results Ninety-five acute stroke events were analyzed: 26 controls and 69 cases. Cohort demographics included means of age 72.82 years, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) 15.96, discharge and 90-day mRS 3.71 and 3.55 respectively, and length of stay 5.98 days. There were significantly different improvements in metrics between arrival time to CT start, emergency room physician evaluation to CT start, neurology contact to CT start, and neurology contact to tPA initiation for cases post-triage team institution. No significant differences during this period were seen for other metrics. Multivariate analysis controlling for age, sex and NIHSS found no significant difference for discharge or 90-day mRS scores.  Conclusions An interdisciplinary approach to acute stroke management can impact stroke metrics. These data support the integration of specially trained stroke nurses in acute stroke triage for quality improvement efforts.