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Awareness weeks guide

National Stroke Week

National Stroke Week

5 - 11 August

National Stroke Week 2024 encourages the community to know the F.A.S.T. (Face, Arms, Speech and Time) signs of stroke so that they can save a life in the event of a loved one experiencing a stroke.

Stroke Foundation recommends the F.A.S.T. test as an easy way to remember the most common signs of stroke. Using the F.A.S.T. test involves asking these simple questions:

  • Face Check their face. Has their mouth drooped?
  • Arms Can they lift both arms?
  • Speech Is their speech slurred? Do they understand you?
  • Time Is critical. If you see any of these signs call 000 straight away.

A stroke is always a medical emergency.  Stroke Foundation

UpToDate

Diagnosis

General

Prevention and treatment

Cochrane Library

Guidelines

Useful resources

  • Enable Me ( a free online resource that brings together stroke information, videos, tools and conversation with other survivors and carers)
  • InformMe (a dedicated resource for health professionals to improve the treatment of stroke care)
  • Stroke Foundation

Reports

Articles

Diagnosis and treatment

Prevention and risks

Research

E-books

E-journals

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Articles

Diagnosis and treatment

The brief executive language screen: sensitivity and specificity in acute to early sub-acute stroke
The Brief Executive Language Screening Test (BELS)  is brief, sensitive, suitable for bedside administration, and can aid in detection and rehabilitation of subtle executive language impairments. This in turn will help improve relationships and quality of life post-stroke. Topics in stroke rehabilitation 4 June 2024

Characterisation of young stroke presentations, pathways of care, and support for ‘invisible’ difficulties: a retrospective clinical audit study
Cognitive and psychological needs of young stroke survivors may remain largely unmet by a service model designed for older people. Findings can inform service development or models of care, such as the new Australian Young Stroke Service designed to better meet the needs of young survivors. Brain impairment 28 June 2024

Implementation of an optimised tele-medicine platform for stroke in South Australia improves patient care
An optimised implementation of a streamlined telehealth platform with ongoing education and feedback to referring sites was associated with improved stroke workflow metrics and higher thrombectomy rates. Frontiers in neurology 18 June 2024

Does on-site computed tomography matter? A cross-sectional study of stroke patients’ door-to-scan-time in rural hospitals
What is already known on this subject?

  • Door-to-scan-time and CT referral appropriateness affect management options for stroke patients and are therefore important measures in evaluating stroke standard of care.
  • Rural hospitals lacking CT scanners on-site must transfer patients to local private radiology clinics with CT capability during business hours or to a central hospital after hours for CT, causing delays.
  • The implications of rural hospitals lacking on-site CT for door-to-scan-time and CT referrals have not been quantified.

What does this study add?

  • This study shows that on-site CT matters in rural Australian hospitals by quantifying large increases in door-to-scan-time for stroke patients presenting to hospitals with off-site CT.
  • Whilst off-site CT hospitals had access to local privately run CT during business hours, most patients still did not receive timely imaging regardless of time of day.
  • Less CT angiography and perfusion scans were ordered for stroke patients at off-site CT hospitals, indicating potential under-scanning and under-diagnosis of ischaemic stroke.

The Australian journal of rural health 20 May 2024

Predictions for functional outcome and mortality in acute ischaemic stroke following successful endovascular thrombectomy
What is already known on this topic:

  • Previous prognostic studies have focused on 3-month functional outcomes and few investigations on other outcomes. Some inconsistencies in identified predictors have meant that clinical impact has been limited.

What this study adds:

  • This study contributes new knowledge by investigating comprehensive real-world predictors assessed at hospital admission and developing models for key clinical outcomes, including 3-month poor functional status, 30-day, 1-year and 3-year mortality, and survival time. The models developed demonstrated satisfactory performance. Risk of bias was minimised by collecting all incident cases that fulfil the inclusion criteria over a 7-year period, ensuring complete population ascertainment.

How this study might affect research, practice or policy:

  • The identified predictors and models developed have the potential to inform treatment decisions, patient consent and enable further validations.

BMJ neurology open 25 June 2024

Health budget implications of mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischaemic stroke in Australia
This research evaluates the budget impact of treating acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) using a combination of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) with stent retrievers (SR) and intravenous tissue-plasminogen activator (IV-tPA) in Australia.  Results show that treatment of AIS with a combination of MT+IV-tPA generates significant savings in the Australian healthcare system compared with IV-tPA alone.  Journal of medical imaging and radiation oncology 30 April 2024

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Prevention

Stroke prevention strategies for cardiac surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
This review presents a comprehensive synthesis of existing interventions for stroke prevention in cardiac surgery, and identifies gaps in research which may benefit from future, large-scale randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) should be considered to reduce stroke incidence in patients with preoperative atrial fibrillation. ANZ journal of surgery 26 March 2024

Novel anticoagulants for stroke prevention in Atrial Fibrillation: A comprehensive review
The review synthesizes evidence from clinical trials and meta-analyses to underscore the pivotal role of novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in transforming stroke prevention strategies in AF. Moreover, it discusses emerging interventions such as left atrial appendage occlusion and emphasizes the importance of personalized, patient-centered care in optimizing treatment decisions for Atrial fibrillation (AF) patients at risk of stroke. Cureus  25 July 2024

Left atrial appendage closure for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation: current status and perspectives
In this review, the authors describe the rapidly evolving field of left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) and discuss recent clinical data, ongoing studies, open questions, and current limitations of LAAC. European heart journal 19 July 2024

Prediction of stroke with extreme gradient boosting in machine learning model
XGBoost is a highly effective tool for stroke prediction, outperforming other machine learning models. Integrating clinical, demographic, and lifestyle factors into the XGBoost model enhances its predictive accuracy, making it valuable for early stroke detection and intervention. Future research should focus on refining these models and validating them on external datasets. International journal of life sciences, Biotechnology and pharma research 7 July 2024

Sleep patterns and the risk of acute stroke: Results from the INTERSTROKE International Case-Control Study
The authors found that sleep disturbance symptoms were common and associated with a graded increased risk of stroke. These symptoms may be a marker of increased individual risk or represent independent risk factors. Future clinical trials are warranted to determine the efficacy of sleep interventions in stroke prevention. Neurology 23 May 2023

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Research

Is it possible to make ‘living’ guidelines? An evaluation of the Australian Living Stroke Guidelines
This study, the first evaluation of living guidelines, demonstrates that this approach to stroke guideline development is feasible and acceptable, that these approaches may add value to developers and users, and may increase guideline use. Future evaluations should be embedded along with guideline implementation to capture data prospectively. BMC health services research 3 April 2024

Unmet supportive care needs among survivors of stroke in Australia: A cross-sectional study
Unmet needs are common in recently discharged survivors of stroke. These findings may be used to inform strategies that support recovery. Providing more information may help reduce unmet needs among survivors of stroke. Enhanced hospital discharge planning and enhanced community services for survivors may help better prepare them and their caregivers for the return home. Rehabilitation psychology 26 July 2024

Health services for young adults with stroke: A Service mapping study over two Australian states
Findings highlight that while expert neurorehabilitation services exist, they are not sufficiently available, accessible, or accommodating of the needs of young adults with stroke. There remains a need to improve access to services where clinicians have the skills to meet the rehabilitation needs of young adults with stroke in Australia. Health and social care in the community 15 July 2024

The impacts of a healthy lifestyle on the physical and mental health status of female stroke survivors in Australia
These findings suggest that post-stroke individuals can improve their physical and mental health by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Specifically, targeted and appropriate programs and strategies are needed to promote physical activity and reduce smoking and alcohol consumption in female stroke survivors in order to optimize their overall health and quality of life. Topics in stroke rehabilitation 15 July 2024

Effects of exercise on post-stroke cognitive function: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Exercise improved cognitive function in stroke patients. To improve cognitive function, this meta-analysis provides clinicians with evidence to recommend that stroke patients participate in aerobic exercise at least 3 times per week for 30–60 minutes, with a goal of 180 minutes per week being achieved by increasing the frequency of exercise. Exercise initiated within 12 months post-stroke and continued for 12 weeks or more is most beneficial for improving cognitive function. Topics in stroke rehabilitation 2 June 2024

Understanding the factors that influence stroke survivors to begin or resume exercise: a qualitative exploration
Authoritative support from health professionals and family members helped participants to engage in exercise in the early stages after stroke. Collaboration and being part of a team was appreciated for ongoing exercise engagement. Exercise provided hope as participants developed their identity after stroke. Topics in stroke rehabilitation 29 August 2023

A qualitative exploration of stroke survivors' experiences of using a stroke helpline
StrokeLine is a stroke-specific helpline used by stroke survivors and their families in Australia to access professional support. There has been little research exploring stroke survivors' experiences of using helplines and their perceived impact on their stroke recovery. Findings of this study showed  participants perceived their experience of contacting StrokeLine as having a positive impact on their stroke recovery, leaving them feeling empowered and motivated to self-manage their condition. Health expectations 11 July 2024

Process mining and customer journey mapping in healthcare: Enhancing patient-centred care in stroke rehabilitation
Process mining can be utilized to visualize and analyse patient journeys and identify gaps in service quality, thus contributing to better patient-centred care and improved patient outcomes and experiences in stroke rehabilitation. Digital health 16 May 2024

Future burden of Ischemic Stroke in Australia: Impact on health outcomes between 2019 and 2038
The burden of IS was projected to increase between 2019 and 2038 in Australia. The outcomes of the model provide important information for decision-makers to design strategies to reduce stroke burden. Neuroepidemiology 10 April 2024

Global burden of stroke in adolescents and young adults (aged 15–39 years) from 1990 to 2019: a comprehensive trend analysis based on the global burden of disease study 2019
A concerning trend of increasing ischemic stroke incidence, Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), and prevalence rates has emerged in the global 15–39 age group, especially among those aged 30–39. This increase is evident across regions with varying Sociodemographic Index (SDI) classifications. To combat this alarming trend among adolescents and young adults, enhancing preventive efforts, promoting healthier lifestyles, strengthening the healthcare system’s responsiveness, and maintaining vigilant epidemiological monitoring is essential.  BMC public health 30 July 2024

 

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E-books

This is just a sample of the e-books the library subscribes to – you will need your library login

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E-Journals

This is just a sample of the journals the library subscribes to – you will need your library login

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