The NIH Stroke Scale is used by healthcare providers to objectively measure impairment from stroke. It is important for nurses to be trained to perform the scale according to guidelines to establish baselines and monitor patient progress. Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in the United States, with nearly 800,000 new or recurrent strokes occurring each year. Patients are at higher risk of recurrent stroke if older or with complex cases, so the NIH Stroke Scale allows nurses to properly assess these at-risk patients.

1. NIH stroke scale
nursece4less.com/tests/materials/n037materials.pdf - contains revelence, purpose, cause,
administration, and how to score,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16224093 – abstract, and trail of usuing dvd to perform test
http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/40/7/2507.long - full text version
Relevance (Why this is an important topic)
The NIH Stroke scale is used by healthcare providers to objectively quantify the
impairment caused by a stroke. A baseline is done in the ER or on the floor after
onset and repeated per protocol and as necessary to monitor changes in patient's
improvement or decline in condition. Most nurses are not trained to perform the
NIH Stroke scale according to guidelines.
Stroke is the 4th
leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the
United States.
40% if stroke death occur in males and 60% in women.
http://stroke.ahajournals.org/ predictions of having recurrent stroke
●● Each year, ≈795 000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke .
Approximately 610 000 (77.7%) of these are first attacks, and 185 000 (23.3%)
are recurrent attacks.
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=164956

2. The hip replacement patients had a 4.4-fold increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke
two weeks after surgery, in a recent study in Denmark with the average age of
72. A conclusion can be made that it makes sense to evaluate the risk of stroke
two weeks after surgery.
Patients who come to Unit 42 are at a risk for developing a recurrent stroke; the
older and more complex the patient the higher the risk. It would be beneficial for
the nurses to know how to recognize a stroke and how to perform the NIH stroke
scale to access a stroke patient.
Relevance (Why this is an important topic)
The NIH Stroke scale is used by healthcare providers to objectively quantify the
impairment caused by a stroke. A baseline is done in the ER or on the floor after
onset and repeated per protocol and as necessary to monitor changes in patient's
improvement or decline in condition. Most nurses are not trained to perform the
NIH Stroke scale according to guidelines.
Stroke is the 4th
leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the
United States.
40% if stroke death occur in males and 60% in women.
http://stroke.ahajournals.org/ predictions of having recurrent stroke
●● Each year, ≈795 000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke .
Approximately 610 000 (77.7%) of these are first attacks, and 185 000 (23.3%)
are recurrent attacks.
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=164956

3. The hip replacement patients had a 4.4-fold increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke
two weeks after surgery, in a recent study in Denmark with the average age of
72. A conclusion can be made that it makes sense to evaluate the risk of stroke
two weeks after surgery.
Patients who come to Unit 42 are at a risk for developing a recurrent stroke; the
older and more complex the patient the higher the risk. It would be beneficial for
the nurses to know how to recognize a stroke and how to perform the NIH stroke
scale to access a stroke patient.