부산대학교 도서관

Background: CT angiogram of the head and neck (CTA) is not part of the routine work-up of status epilepticus (SE), which could miss acute ischemic stroke (AIS) as the cause. We hypothesized that healthcare savings from early treatment of otherwise undiagnosed AIS would be greater than the cost of adding a routine CTA for work-up of SE (all comers). Methods: The total number of patients presenting to ER with SE (defined as seizure/epilepsy+hospital admission), and the subgroup who were diagnosed with a new ischemic stroke, or received a CTA were retrospectively calculated at the Ottawa Hospital between 2010-2019. CTA costs, and savings of early treatment of AIS were obtained from the Department of Radiology and literature review, respectively. Results: 727 individuals presented with SE. 3% (n=22) had a new ischemic stroke-of these, 95% (n=21) did not receive a CTA (considered missed AIS). Assuming CTA could help detect every case of ischemic stroke missed this could result in 2.27 additional strokes caught early/year, and assuming if all thrombolysis candidates this would net cost $7,967/year (vs no acute treatment), or if all thrombolysis+thrombectomy candidates would net save $19,823/year (vs thrombolysis alone). Conclusions: Routine CTA in SE in the ER has potential to result in healthcare savings.