stroke

AHA/ASA Issue Interim Stroke Guidance During Pandemic

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Stroke Council Leadership has published temporary emergency guidance on stroke care during the COVID-19 pandemic in the journal Stroke.1

“While these recommendations have not yet undergone the traditional rigorous process of development, refinement and peer review … we acknowledge the mounting concern regarding optimal stroke care during the COVID-19 pandemic among vascular neurologists and those clinicians who care for patients with stroke. We issue this temporary statement as an interim stopgap opinion, pending a more thorough and considered process,” said the Stroke Council Leadership in a press release.2

Their recommendations include:1

  • Clinicians should adhere to stroke guidelines and continue the treatment of patients with stroke as appropriate. Although full guideline adherence may pose a challenge at this time, clinicians should offer treatment to the extent possible.
  • Clinicians should attempt to minimize the use of scarce personal protective equipment (PPE) in their respective medical centers. Way to do this include sending the fewest possible clinicians to see Code Stroke patients and into rooms for follow-up visitation.
  • Clinicians should increase the use of telemedicine as appropriate. The NIH Stroke Scale/Score can be performed efficiently through the use of telemedicine. It is important to note that televideo is superior to telephone, but a telephone consultation is superior to no consultation at all.
  • Clinicians should take care of themselves, their families, and their teammates, and follow protocol for handwashing, PPE use, COVID-19 testing and evaluation, and self-quarantine when necessary.
  • Because stroke care has always been a collaborative effort, it is important for clinicians to continue collaborating and have compassion for one another during this challenging time.


—Christina Vogt

References:

  1. American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Stroke Council Leadership. Temporary emergency guidance to US stroke centers during the COVID-19 pandemic: on behalf of the AHA/ASA Stroke Council Leadership [Published online April 1, 2020]. Stroke. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.120.030023
  2. Interim guidance issued on stroke care during COVID-19 pandemic. News release. AHA/ASA Stroke Council Leadership; April 2, 2020. Accessed April 3, 2020. https://newsroom.heart.org/news/interim-guidance-issued-on-stroke-care-during-covid-19-pandemic