The King's College Hospital Acute Stroke Unit

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Clinical Medicine
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• The King's College Hospital (KCH) established an Acute Stroke Unit (ASU) in January 1994.
• The ASU was created to manage acute stroke patients and facilitate biomedical research.
• Stroke care requires a multidisciplinary approach encompassing immediate stabilization, investigation, complication prevention, rehabilitation, and secondary prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the setup and initial operation of the KCH Acute Stroke Unit.
• To outline the comprehensive management strategies implemented within the ASU.
• To assess the feasibility and potential benefits of an ASU in acute stroke care.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of patients admitted to KCH with stroke during the first six months of ASU operation.
• Description of the multidisciplinary management protocols and interventions applied within the ASU.
• Inclusion of patients from Accident and Emergency (A&E) and other hospital wards.

Main Results:

• Over the first six months, 141 (68%) of 206 admitted stroke patients were managed by the ASU.
• The majority of patients (85%) were admitted from the A&E department.
• Management encompassed resuscitation, stabilization, investigation, complication prevention, rehabilitation, nutrition, and secondary prevention initiation.

Conclusions:

• The establishment of an Acute Stroke Unit is feasible and relatively easy to implement.
• ASUs can potentially contribute to improved acute stroke patient care.
• Further research is required to determine the impact of ASUs on patient survival, functional outcomes, and cost-effectiveness.