Effect of tele-stroke application on length of stay and outcome of stroke unit inpatients

Abstract Background Despite advances in acute stroke treatment, stroke remains the second most common cause of death and the leading cause for long-term adult disability worldwide Telemedicine, a method of healthcare delivery and support using telecommunication technologies, is becoming increasingly popular across a wide range of health conditions. Tele stroke has grown significantly in the past decade and has entered mainstream care for patients with acute stroke. It enables such patients to be remotely evaluated, thereby allowing optimal treatment and management even in clinically underserved areas and removing geographical disparities in access to expert care. Objective Study the effectiveness of Tele-stroke regarding length of stay& stroke outcomes &occurrence of medical comorbidities in admitted patients by comparing these measures before and after tele stroke application in ain shams university specialized hospital(ASUSH) Methods Comparative observational study. we stratified patients into two groups: “Group 1”: patients admitted 3 months before application of tele stroke “Group 2”: patients admitted 3 months after application of tele stroke We compared between two groups regarding sociodemographic data , length of stay and NIH scoring on admission & discharge before and after implementation of tele stroke system Results regarding length of stay, it was ranged from 1 to 19 days with mean (4.3 ± 3.3) in group (I) comparing to range 1 to 12 with mean (3.5 ± 1.9) days in group (II) with significant decrease (p = 0.033*). By analysis of results by means for difference between NIH on admission and in discharge , the means difference in group I was 2.8±1.9 vs. 3.5±2.3 in group II with significant difference (p-value =0.29*) CONCLUSION Our study concluded that application of tele stroke had significant improvement in stroke unit care as regard length of stay, rapid improvement of patients according to NIH scoring and mRS