Journal of stroke and cerebrovascular diseases : the official journal of National Stroke Association
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J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis · Apr 2019
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyStroke Mimics and Accuracy of Referrals Made by Emergency Department Doctors in Japan for Patients with Suspected Stroke.
Stroke mimics (SMs)are medical conditions that are at first considered to be of cerebrovascular etiology but turn out to be a condition other than stroke. While many reports on SMs have been published, there have been none from Japan. Thus, we sought to assess the current state of SMs in a Japanese population. ⋯ This is the first report on SMs in a Japanese population. About one-third of all referrals with suspicion of stroke made by ED doctors were inappropriate. Including more information on stroke diagnosis in the educational program for young doctors in Japan would be beneficial for improving the quality of the initial medical examination of patients with suspected stroke.