Having a pharmacist at stroke patient's bedside speeds administration of critical drug

Pharmacist involvement in treatment for acute ischemic stroke decreases the time it takes to administer the clot-busting drug rtPA by a median of 23.5 minutes, according to a study published in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy. The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association guidelines for ischemic stroke recommend giving eligible patients rtPA within 60 minutes of hospital arrival. Pharmacists can help evaluate rtPA contraindications, review medical histories and medication lists, manage blood pressure, determine the rtPA dose, reconstitute and administer rtPA with the bedside nurse, educate individuals about the drug, and monitor the patient after rtPA administration. The Loyola Medicine researchers retrospectively examined 125 ischemic stroke patients who received rtPA, including 45 who had a pharmacist present and 80 who did not. When a pharmacist was at the patient's bedside, there was a 49% increase in the percentage of patients who received rtPA within the recommended 60 minutes. The study "supports utilization of pharmacists as members of the stroke response team to optimize door-to-needle goal attainment in acute ischemic stroke," the researchers concluded.