Callers’ Descriptions of Stroke Symptoms during Emergency Calls in Victims Who Have Fallen or Been Found Lying Down: A Qualitative Content Analysis

TL;DR

This study explores how people describe stroke symptoms during emergency calls when the patient is found lying down, highlighting the need for better understanding to improve stroke identification.

Contribution

The study identifies unique and vague descriptions of stroke symptoms in patients found in a lying position, which are not captured by standard assessment protocols.

Findings

Callers described sudden health changes like loss of bodily control and sensory perception.

Communication difficulties were reported between callers and patients.

Symptoms described were often vague and not aligned with standard stroke assessment protocols.

Abstract

Early identification of stroke symptoms is essential. The rate of stroke identification by call-takers at emergency medical communication centres (EMCCs) varies, and patients who are found in a lying down position are often not identified as having an ongoing stroke. Objectives: this study aimed to explore signs and symptoms of stroke in patients who had fallen or were found in a lying position. Design: a retrospective exploratory qualitative study design was used. Method: a total of 29 emergency calls to EMCCs regarding patients discharged with a stroke diagnosis from a large teaching hospital in Stockholm, Sweden, in January–June 2011, were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results: during the emergency calls, the callers described a sudden change in the patient’s health status including signs such as the patient’s loss of bodily control, the patient’s perception of a change in sensory perception, and the callers’ inability to communicate with the patient. Conclusions: The callers’ descriptions of stroke in a person found in a lying position are not always as described in assessment protocols describing the onset of a stroke. Instead, the symptom descriptions are much vaguer. Therefore, to increase identification of stroke during emergency calls, there is a need for an increased understanding of how callers describe stroke symptoms and communicate with the call-takers.

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