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The Cincinnati Stroke Scale - Oren Zarif - Cincinnati Stroke Scale

Writer's picture: Oren ZarifOren Zarif

The Cincinnati Stroke Scale is an important tool for evaluating the severity of a stroke in the pre-hospital setting. The Cincinnati Stroke Scale is a five-point rating system that evaluates three key areas of a patient's appearance for abnormalities. Those areas are facial droop, arm drift, and speech. Any of these factors may indicate a stroke. Patients with a low score on this scale are likely to have a mild stroke.

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The sensitivity of the Cincinnati scale was high, suggesting that it is a useful tool for predicting the likelihood of a stroke before hospital admission. The sensitivity and specificity of the Cincinnati scale were similar to those reported in the Frendl et al. study published in 2009. The Cincinnati scale also had higher sensitivity than the ROSIER scale, but the latter had higher NPV. The Cincinnati scale had higher sensitivity in the current study, but lower specificity in the Chen et al. study. A study published by Mingfeng and colleagues also found that the Cincinnati scale is superior to the ROSIER scale for stroke diagnosis.

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The CPSS assesses facial movement to diagnose a stroke before a patient is taken to the hospital. First responders use this tool to determine whether or not a patient is having a stroke before they arrive. The CPSS asks patients to smile and the medical professional will grade the amount of symmetry and unilateral disparity in their facial movement. If the patient's face shows all teeth equally, this is considered normal. If a patient drifts to one side, however, it is a sign of stroke.

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CPSS was also used to evaluate the accuracy of the CPSS for identifying stroke and TIA patients by paramedics. The accuracy rate was rated as high as 37.5% for paramedics before and after their training. The CPSS is effective for stroke identification, but its sensitivity and specificity are low. While it may be useful in prehospital situations, there are still significant limitations in its use.

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A prospective study of CPSS results in a significant proportion of large vessel occlusion stroke. This new tool will allow prehospital clinicians to distinguish patients with acute large vessel occlusion stroke and assess the severity of the symptoms. This tool will be helpful for triaging patients and transporting them to a comprehensive stroke center. This scale has a significant impact on identifying LVO in acute ischemic stroke.

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The Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale (CPSS) is a simple three-item scale developed to identify patients with symptoms of a stroke. CPSS is used by EMS and is quick and easy to use. It is effective for identifying potential stroke patients, with moderate sensitivity for patients with LVO. Unfortunately, CPSS is not an accurate measure of the severity of stroke symptoms. While it may be useful in emergency medical situations, it cannot be used to assess the severity of stroke symptoms in patients who have yet to be transported to the hospital.

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Further evaluation of the educational component of the CPSS is needed. Future studies should report on this educational intervention. Further research should also evaluate the broader impact of the CPSS. Such research should consider the added value it offers to patients, as well as organizational and social implications. It may also help to quantify the global impact of the CPSS on patient safety. In short, CPSS has many potential for positive outcomes and is worth further investigation.

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