Transcranial Doppler Ultrasonography in Pre-hospital Management of Stroke: Can it make a Difference?

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to discuss the use of transcranial doppler in the pre-hospital management of stroke. In the pre-hospital organization, neurological defect scales are used, but they are often indicative of the occlusions of anterior circulation and not of the posterior circulation. Patients with posterior circulation stroke are sometimes not diagnosed and clinically treated. In the pre-hospital phase, the transcranial doppler may identify an occlusion of the large cerebral vessels and be useful for stroke patients, in particular those with posterior occlusions, for a more precise diagnosis and consequently for adequate treatment in the excellence centers for stroke.