Patients
neurological deficits, stroke, basilar artery occlusion
STROKE, BASILAR ARTERY OCCLUSION, ACUTE STROKE
Patients with acute focal neurological deficits were eligible for inclusion if they were ≥18 years of age, had a Prehospital Acute Stroke Severity (PASS)LVO was defined as occlusion of at least one of the following vessels: internal carotid artery, first segment of middle cerebral artery, proximal part of first division of middle cerebral artery, or basilar artery occlusion assessed initially by computed tomography angiography or magnetic resonance angiography, which was accessible at all centers.The target population was defined before trial commencement as all randomized patients with a final diagnosis of AIS (modified intention to treat) in both transportation arms. The final diagnosis of AIS was validated in all cases by a stroke neurologist.During the 4-year trial period, the referral 2 PSCs admitted 2491 stroke patients within the 4,5-hour window potentially eligible for screening for LVO symptoms. The shortest road distance between the PSCs and the CSC was 114 km (71 miles) from both PSCs. This corresponds to ≈1 hour of ground transportation in this setting (ambulances are allowed to break traffic law).