Vol. 3 No. 2 (2023): May-Aug
Original Articles

Characteristics of Stroke in Prehospital Settings in Saudi Arabia: A Descriptive Analysis

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  • Moath Alkeaid,
  • Saleh Alorainy,
  • Fahad Alhussainan,
  • Tariq Dabil,
  • Ahmed Alkhazi,
  • Osama Alsulaymi,
  • Rabah Alharbi,
  • Zainab Alhussaini
Moath Alkeaid
Imam Mohammed Bin Saud Islamic University
Saleh Alorainy
Imam Mohammed Bin Saud Islamic University
Fahad Alhussainan
Imam Mohammed Bin Saud Islamic University
Tariq Dabil
Imam Mohammed Bin Saud Islamic University
Ahmed Alkhazi
Emergency Department, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Osama Alsulaymi
Emergency Department, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Zainab Alhussaini
Emergency Department, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52609/jmlph.v3i2.68

Published 2023-04-19

Keywords

  • Stroke,
  • EMS,
  • Prehospital,
  • Saudi Arabia

How to Cite

Alkeaid, M., Alorainy, S., Alhussainan, F., Dabil, T., Alkhazi, A., Alsulaymi, O., Alharbi, R., & Alhussaini, Z. (2023). Characteristics of Stroke in Prehospital Settings in Saudi Arabia: A Descriptive Analysis . The Journal of Medicine, Law & Public Health, 3(2), 212–218. https://doi.org/10.52609/jmlph.v3i2.68

Copyright (c) 2023 The Journal of Medicine, Law & Public Health

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Background: Stroke is considered a time-sensitive emergency; thus, early recognition of this condition is a crucial function of emergency medical services (EMS) and medical practitioners. In this study, we aimed to assess the characteristics observed by EMS practitioners in stroke-suspected cases.

 Methodology: This is a retrospective observational study, using the data available in the registry of the Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SRCA). We collected data from the beginning of January 2018 to the end of December 2020.

Results: We reviewed 753 patients who met the study’s inclusion criteria. Participants aged 61-70 years represented 29% of the study group, and 66% of the group were male. Patients living in Makkah constituted 32.9%, while most of the patients (71.7%) were Saudi nationals. Weakness was the most common complaint, reported in 45% of patients. The most associated disease was hypertension (54.4%), whereas hypoglycaemic patients represented 0.4% of the group.

Conclusion: Weakness was the most prevalent complaint among stroke-suspected patients, and hypertension was the most associated risk factor. Blood glucose measurement and neurological examination were both included in the EMS assessment of stroke-suspected patients. This might indicate the high quality of the EMS assessment for stroke and stroke-mimickers.

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