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Application of Telemedicine in the Ambulance for Stroke Patients: A Systematic Review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 October 2023

Fatemeh Sarpourian ,
Milad Ahmadi Marzaleh Open the ORCID record for Milad Ahmadi Marzaleh [Opens in a new window] ,
Seyed Ali Fatemi Aghda  and
Zahra Zare Open the ORCID record for Zahra Zare [Opens in a new window]
Fatemeh Sarpourian
Affiliation:
PhD Candidate of Health Information Management, Student Research Committee, Department of Health Information Technology, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Milad Ahmadi Marzaleh
Affiliation:
Department of Health in Disasters and Emergencies, Health Human Resources Research Center, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Seyed Ali Fatemi Aghda
Affiliation:
PhD Candidate of Medical Informatics, Department of Health Information Management, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Zahra Zare*
Affiliation:
PhD Candidate in Health Care Management, Department of Health Care Management, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, Iran
*
Correspondence: Zahra Zare School of Health Management and Information Sciences Shiraz University of Medical Sciences Shiraz, Iran E-mail: zahra.zare1993@gmail.com
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Abstract

Introduction:

The use of telemedicine for the prehospital management of emergency conditions, especially stroke, is increasing day by day. Few studies have investigated the applications of telemedicine in Emergency Medical Services (EMS). A comprehensive study of the applications of this technology in stroke patients in ambulances can help to build a better understanding. Therefore, this systematic review was conducted to investigate the use of telemedicine in ambulances for stroke patients in 2023.

Methods:

A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, ProQuest, Science Direct, and Web of Science from 2013 through March 1, 2023. The authors selected the articles based on keywords and criteria and reviewed them in terms of title, abstract, and full text. Finally, the articles that were related to the study aim were evaluated.

Results:

The initial search resulted in the extraction of 2,795 articles. After review of the articles, and applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, seven articles were selected for the final analysis. Three (42.85%) studies were on the feasibility and intervention types. Also, randomized trials, feasibility, feasibility and prospective-observational, and feasibility and retrospective-interventional studies were each one (14.28%). Six (85.71%) of the studies were conducted in the United States. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and RP-Xpress were the most commonly used tools for neurological evaluations and teleconsultations.

Conclusion:

Remote prehospital consultations, triage, and sending patient data before they go to the emergency department can be provided through telemedicine in ambulances. Neurological evaluations via telemedicine are reliable and accurate, and they are almost equal to in-person evaluations by a neurologist.

Keywords

ambulanceprehospitalstroketechnologytelemedicine
Type
Systematic Review
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 38 , Issue 6 , December 2023 , pp. 774 - 779
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine

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Footnotes

Note: Fatemeh Sarpourian and Milad Ahmadi Marzaleh have had the same contribution and both are the first author.

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