Table II.
Conditions incorrectly diagnosed as an acute cerebrovascular accident (CVA) in the prehospital setting including comparison between referrals from the emergency ambulance physicians and general practitioners or other outpatient specialists
| Parameter | Overall (n = 210) |
Ambulance physicians (n = 127) |
Outpatient physicians (n = 66) |
Value of p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female gender, n (%) | 134 (73.8) | 83 (65.4) | 40 (60.6) | 0.515 |
| Age, median (IQR) [years] | 73 (62–81) | 75 (67–81) | 68 (58–79) | 0.004 |
| Neurological disorders suspected of CVA, n (%): | 107 (51.0) | 69 (54.3) | 37 (56.1) | 0.819 |
| Vertigo | 39 (18.6) | 19 (15.0) | 16 (4.2) | 0.112 |
| Seizure | 24 (11.4) | 22 (17.3) | 1 (1.5) | 0.001 |
| Brain tumor | 11 (5.2) | 6 (4.7) | 5 (7.6) | 0.418 |
| Headache | 4 (1.9) | 3 (2.4) | 1 (1.5) | 1.000* |
| Other | 29 (13.8) | 19 (15.0) | 13 (19.7) | 0.401 |
| Non-neurological disorders suspected of CVA, n (%): | 103 (49.0) | 58 (45.7) | 29 (43.9) | 0.819 |
| Electrolyte and metabolic disturbances | 25 (11.9) | 19 (15.0) | 5 (7.6) | 0.140 |
| Cardiovascular disorders | 21 (10.0) | 14 (11.0) | 7 (10.6) | 0.930 |
| Hypertension | 17 (8.1) | 8 (6.3) | 7 (10.6) | 0.289 |
| Infections | 9 (4.3) | 7 (5.5) | 1 (1.5) | 0.190 |
| Other | 31 (14.8) | 10 (7.9) | 9 (13.6) | 0.202 |
| Subsequent admission of non-CVA, n (%): | 112 (53.3) | 84 (66.1) | 24 (36.4) | < 0.001 |
| Neurological ward | 52 (24.8) | 39 (30.7) | 10 (15.2) | 0.019 |
| Non-neurological ward | 62 (29.5) | 45 (35.4) | 14 (21.2) | 0.174 |
*
Two-tailed Fisher's exact test was used.