Posted on 11/07/2006 9:32:38 PM PST by neverdem
Vital Signs
Emergency room doctors trying to figure out the best way to treat someone who has just had a stroke would be able to follow a more informed course of action if they had an M.R.I. scan of the patient’s brain, a new study finds.
For about a decade, doctors have been able to turn to drugs known as clot busters, which can significantly improve the outcome for people whose strokes are caused by a blockage in a blood vessel. The problem is that many strokes involve bleeding in the brain, not clotting, and the clot busters can be fatal in those cases.
Although the two types of strokes are different, their symptoms can be the same, and the CT scans commonly given to patients at the hospital can shed only a little light.
In the new study, however, researchers led by Dr. Gregory W. Albers of Stanford found that M.R.I. scans could provide information that makes it clearer which patients will benefit from clot busters. The scans may also increase the window of time doctors have to administer them.
Under current guidelines, the drugs should not be given more than three hours after a stroke — a problem because many patients do not come in for treatment until after that time has passed. But armed with the M.R.I. results, which show which parts of the brain are damaged beyond repair and which can still be saved, doctors may be able to give the drug later, the study said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Good Post - Just in time....
I hope some of the incumbents have access to this technology....
Great, now people can sue because they didn't get a $4,000 MRI when they came in complaining of a headache.
Great news. The republican party will need it as they just had a huge stroke.
Cool down ? you may live longer
FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.
At my hospital, we are still utilizing CT scans for definitive diagnosis of strokes.. but the technique for getting rid of a clot has advanced to the MERCI retrieval system rather than TPA. I still believe, if time allows, first diagnostic test should be a CT.
MM
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