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(Stroke. 2003;34:729.)
© 2003 American Heart Association, Inc.

Original Contributions

Use of a Field-to-Stroke Center Helicopter Transport Program to Extend Thrombolytic Therapy to Rural Residents

From the Department of Neurology (S.L.S., J.G.M.), University of Florida; Department of Neurology, University of Florida Health Sciences Center at Jacksonville (B.Q.); and TraumaOne Flight Service (V.H.), Jacksonville, Fla.

Reprint requests to Scott L. Silliman, MD, Department of Neurology, University of Florida Health Sciences Center at Jacksonville, Tower 1 Bldg, 580 W 8th St, Jacksonville, Fl 32209. E-mail scott.silliman{at}jax.ufl.edu

Background and Purpose— Giving stroke victims who reside outside communities with hospitals that can administer tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) access to thrombolytic therapy is a challenge. Helicopter transport to a stroke center is a potential way to make rtPA available to these communities. We examined the experience of the Shands-Jacksonville Acute Stroke Transport Program, a field-to-stroke center helicopter transport program that serves rural counties in the northeastern Florida/southeastern Georgia region.

Methods— Prospectively collected data of 111 consecutive helicopter transports to Shands-Jacksonville, from an 11-county region, over a 3-year period were reviewed.

Results— Eighty-five patients (76%) had a cerebrovascular event. Forty-seven patients (42%) had an ischemic stroke, 19 (17%) had a transient ischemic attack, and 19 (17%) had a hemorrhagic stroke. Thrombolytic therapy was administered to 18 ischemic stroke patients (38%), with 15 being treated intravenously. Three patients who arrived beyond the 3-hour window were treated intra-arterially. Average field-to-hospital distance for all patients was 29.4 miles (range, 11 to 90 miles). Most patients (n=65) arrived within 135 minutes from symptom onset.

Conclusions— A helicopter-based transport system can link a rural region to a stroke center and promote access to thrombolytic therapy.

Key Words: emergency medical services • stroke management • stroke, acute • tissue plasminogen activator

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