Research findings in a clinical trial led by a professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s College of Nursing are likely to dramatically change care and improve outcomes for patients suffering from acute stroke.
Principal investigator, Professor Anne Alexandrov, PhD, AG-ACNP-BC, RN, CCRN, ANVP-BC, NVRN-BC, FAAN, presented results of the five-year clinical trial titled, Zero-Degree Head Positioning in Acute Large Vessel Ischemic Stroke (ZODIAC), at the International Stroke Conference in Phoenix on February 7. ZODIAC sought definitive results on the impact of head positioning on patients with large artery acute ischemic stroke prior to thrombectomy. A thrombectomy is a surgery to remove a blood clot from an artery or vein.
“Our conclusions are that acute large vessel occlusion (LVO) ischemic stroke patients that have viable brain that can be saved by thrombectomy should immediately be positioned with the head at 0 degrees to preserve brain function prior to the thrombectomy procedure,” Dr. Alexandrov said. “Ambulance and helicopter personnel need to know this, as well as all emergency department personnel. We expect that our findings will change patient care dramatically in this patient population.”
Read more at our UTHSC news site.