Knowledge of the Egyptian emergency physicians about the use of rt-PA in acute ischemic stroke

BackgroundThe administration of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) has increased the focus on acute ischemic stroke (AIS) as an emergency condition. The emergency physicians have to rapidly recognize the patients who are candidates for rt-PA and refer them to the specialized stroke tea...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Egyptian Journal of Neurology, Psychiatry and Neurosurgery Psychiatry and Neurosurgery, 2020-06, Vol.56 (1), p.1-5
Main Authors: El-khatib Mohamed El-Sayed, El Ahwal Shereen Ahmed, Masoud Muhammad, Sherine, El Mously
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acute ischemic stroke
Egypt
Emergency physicians
Knowledge
rt-PA
Stroke
Trauma centers
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:BackgroundThe administration of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) has increased the focus on acute ischemic stroke (AIS) as an emergency condition. The emergency physicians have to rapidly recognize the patients who are candidates for rt-PA and refer them to the specialized stroke team within the proper time window. The knowledge of the emergency physicians about the benefit and the drawbacks of this therapy is crucial and it affects their attitudes towards its use.ObjectiveTo apply a survey on the Egyptian emergency physicians aiming to investigate their knowledge about the use rt-PA therapy in AIS.MethodologyA self-administered questionnaire was sent to the emergency physicians who are working in three Egyptian governorates.ResultsOut of 120 emergency physicians, the total knowledge of the study group was good with a score of 7 ± 1.8/11. Most of the participants mentioned the correct answers (over 50%) for all items except for one question regarding the blood glucose control before the use of rt-PA. Significant positive correlation was noted between the knowledge score and the age.ConclusionsThe surveyed emergency physicians had a good knowledge about the use of rt-PA in AIS, yet, this knowledge is mainly theoretical. Therefore, tutorials, clinical training, and active engagement in the stroke care team are warranted to improve their clinical practice.
ISSN:1110-1083
1687-8329
DOI:10.1186/s41983-020-00194-z