tPA is considered a gold standard for treatment of patients with ischemic strokes.
Mechanism: Works by dissolving clots and restoring/improving blood perfusion to part of the brain that was previously impeded.
Important: Differentiate ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke by administering CT scan. tPA will not be useful in hemorrhagic strokes as decreased perfusion to brain is result of intracranial bleeding as opposed to a vascular obstruction.
When to give: Must be given within 3-4.5 hours from onset of stroke symptoms. *NOTE: it is from the time the patient was last asymptomatic, hence if a patient awakes with stroke symptoms, they were last asymptomatic whatever time they fell asleep.
How is it administered: IV
REFERENCES
1. Davis SM, Donnan GA (June 2009). “4.5 hours: the new time window for tissue plasminogen activator in stroke”. Stroke 40 (6): 2266–7.
2. Fonarow GC, Zhao X, Smith EE, et al. Door-to-Needle Times for Tissue Plasminogen Activator Administration and Clinical Outcomes in Acute Ischemic Stroke Before and After a Quality Improvement Initiative. JAMA. 2014;311(16):1632-1640. doi:10.1001/jama.2014.3203.
B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a hormone created in response to cardiac wall stretch due…
A common finding described on computed tomography (CT) imaging. A disease with a peribronchovascular distribution…
Though often used synonymously; Trapped Lung and Lung Entrapment technically describe separate entities along the…
It is not clearly understood why patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) develop pericardial effusions. However,…
The two drugs are not interchangeable nor dose equivalents. Mycophenolate mofetil (Cellcept) is a semi…
Serum Creatinine can be a deceptive surrogate during an acute kidney injury. It may lag…
This website uses cookies.