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Callers' Descriptions of Stroke Symptoms during Emergency Calls in Victims Who Have Fallen or Been Found Lying Down:
Veronica Lindström1,2,3, Mihaela Oana Romanitan4,5, Annika Berglund6
1Department of Nursing, Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden.
Abstract:
Early identification of stroke symptoms is essential. The rate of stroke identification by call-takers at emergency medical communication centres (EMCCs) varies, and patients who are found in a lying down position are often not identified as having an ongoing stroke.
Objectives:
this study aimed to explore signs and symptoms of stroke in patients who had fallen or were found in a lying position.
Design:
a retrospective exploratory qualitative study design was used.
Method:
a total of 29 emergency calls to EMCCs regarding patients discharged with a stroke diagnosis from a large teaching hospital in Stockholm, Sweden, in January-June 2011, were analysed using qualitative content analysis.
Results:
during the emergency calls, the callers described a sudden change in the patient's health status including signs such as the patient's loss of bodily control, the patient's perception of a change in sensory perception, and the callers' inability to communicate with the patient.
Conclusions:
The callers' descriptions of stroke in a person found in a lying position are not always as described in assessment protocols describing the onset of a stroke. Instead, the symptom descriptions are much vaguer. Therefore, to increase identification of stroke during emergency calls, there is a need for an increased understanding of how callers describe stroke symptoms and communicate with the call-takers.
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