do stroke units make the difference?
The consideration of stroke as a medical emergency and the development of new specific treatments to be applied in a narrow therapeutic window have shown the need to establish an adequate organization system for the management of stroke. It should be considered as an integral process both outside and inside the hospital. General care is essential and must already start outside the hospital, and comprises respiratory and cardiac care, fluid and metabolic management, especially blood glucose control, avoiding the administration of glucose solutions, blood pressure control, early treatment of hyperthermia and prevention and treatment of neurologic and systemic complications. In the early 70s, the first stroke units (SU) were established as intensive-care SU, but failed to show improvement in terms of reduction of mortality-morbidity. Nowadays, the concept has changed to a non-intensive-care SU. The benefit of these SU has been amply demonstrated in terms of reduction in mortality and in l
