Ischemic Stroke 03: Evaluation

When performing your history and physical on a patient with a suspected stroke, there are a few things you need to remember. First, rule out the stroke mimics. We don't want to give a potentially risky drug to a patient in whom there would be NO BENEFIT because they aren't having a stroke.

Next, you need to establish the time the stroke started. This is not the same as when the patient (or family) first noticed the stroke. Ask "when was the last time you were normal?" or "someone saw you normal?"

Finally, perform a good neurologic exam and that includes an assessment of the patient's stroke scale. You can't remember this, so use a memory aide such as the Paucis Verbis cards found at Academic Life in EM. Cheers to Dr. Michelle Lin.

Видео Ischemic Stroke 03: Evaluation канала Rahul Patwari