Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Prehospital Thrombolysis: A Manual from Berlin
Published on: November 26, 2013
Doubts, fears and misconceptions. What is the future of thrombolysis in acute stroke?
P A Barber1, M D Hill, A M Demchuk
1Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Abstract:
Alteplase for acute ischemic stroke may be the first stroke intervention to have a significant public health impact. In February 1999, this therapy was conditionally licensed in Canada for acute ischemic stroke within three hours of symptom onset. However, considerable controversy exists regarding its safety, its wider applicability outside clinical trials, and its ultimate availability. In this article we review the thrombolytic literature, attempt to answer many of the concerns, provide new guidelines for its use, and cite the need for more information about whom we should and should not be treating with this therapy.
Related Concept Videos
Anticoagulant Drugs: Low-Molecular-Weight Heparins
Clot Retraction and Fibrinolysis
Venous Thrombosis I: Introduction
Venous Thrombosis III: Interprofessional Care
Pulmonary Embolism II: Diagnostic Studies and Interprofessional Care
Ischemic Stroke ll: Pathophysiology

