TY - JOUR AU - Stornello, Michele AU - Pietrantonio, Filomena PY - 2013/04/30 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Stroke treatment in Stroke Unit: from scientific evidences to clinical practice JF - Italian Journal of Medicine JA - Ital J Med VL - 3 IS - 4 SE - Health Management DO - 10.4081/itjm.2009.239 UR - https://www.italjmed.org/ijm/article/view/itjm.2009.239 SP - 239-243 AB - Background: In themanagement of stroke disease, evidences fromthe literature demonstrate that the introduction of stroke units, hospital wards with dedicated beds providing intensive care within 48 hours of symptoms' onset, produced a real improvement in the outcome, reducing in-hospital fatality cases and increasing the proportion of patients independently living in long term follow-up. <br />Discussion: The article focuses on stroke disease-management, suggesting a stroke integrated approach for the admission of patients on dedicated beds, in order to extend the €˜â€˜stroke care'' approach outcomes to as many hospitals as possible in Italy. This approach implies the set up of a stroke network for an effective patients' stratification according to the severity of the illness at debut; the set up of an integrated team of specialists in hospital management of the acute phase (first 48 hours) and a timely rehabilitation treatment. Ultimately the hospital should be organized according to department's semi-intensive areas in order to assure to the patients, in the early stage of the disease, a timely high intensity care aimed to improve the long term outcome. ER -