Experiences and needs of patients on the endovascular therapy pathway after acute ischaemic stroke: Being helpless and next to yourself.
Kristina Eiskjær Sørensen, Pia Dreyer, Mads Rasmussen and 2 others
PMID 31871714WHAT IT FOUND
Stroke patients remembered little of the acute stroke treatment pathway except the nurse who stayed with them.
They felt helpless and anxious, needed calm presence, and later wanted clear information and follow-up.
Key findings
01Patients remembered little of the acute stroke treatment pathway, but the admitting nurse was often a clear memory.
02A nurse's presence during MRI made the unpleasant scan feel safer.
03After discharge, patients feared another stroke and wanted specialist help before standard follow-up.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used a small purposive sample from one centre, so its themes cannot be assumed to apply to other stroke populations. Patients with severe stroke, aphasia or cognitive impairment who could not consent were excluded, so the experiences of those most impaired may be missing. The first author was a nurse in the stroke unit, which may have influenced what was observed and interpreted. Observations were not systematically analysed, so they mainly supported interpretation of the interviews. Although patients came from a trial comparing anaesthesia types, this study did not test treatment effects or recovery outcomes.
Declared interests
No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the nurse's presence as a proven treatment effect. This qualitative study describes what patients remembered and valued. It did not compare care with and without a nurse present and did not measure recovery outcomes.