The Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale (abbreviated CPSS) is a system used to diagnose a potential
stroke in a prehospital setting.
It tests three
signs for abnormal findings which may indicate that the patient is having a stroke. If any one of the three tests shows abnormal findings, the patient may be having a stroke and should be transported to a
hospital as soon as possible. The CPSS was derived from the
National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, or NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS), is a tool used by healthcare providers to objectively quantify the impairment caused by a stroke. The NIHSS is composed of 11 items, each of which scores a specific ability ...
developed in 1997 at the
University of Cincinnati Medical Center
The University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center (AHC) is a collection of health colleges and institutions of the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. It trains health care professionals and provides research and patient care. AHC has st ...
for prehospital use.
Method
#''Facial droop:'' Have the person smile or show his or her teeth. If one side doesn't move as well as the other so it seems to droop, that could be a sign of a stroke.
#* Normal: Both sides of face move equally
#* Abnormal: One side of face does not move as well as the other (or at all)
#''Arm drift:'' Have the person close his or her eyes and hold his or her arms straight out in front with palms facing up for about 10 seconds. If one arm does not move, or one arm winds up drifting down more than the other, that could be a sign of a stroke.
#* Normal: Both arms move equally or not at all
#* Abnormal: One arm does not move, or one arm drifts down compared with the other side
#''Speech:'' Have the person say, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks," or some other simple, familiar saying. If the person slurs the words, gets some words wrong, or is unable to speak, that could be a sign of a stroke.
#* Normal: Patient uses correct words with no slurring
#* Abnormal: Slurred or inappropriate words or mute
Patients with 1 of these 3 findings as a new event have a 72% probability of an
ischemic stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop funct ...
.
If all 3 findings are present the probability of an acute stroke is more than 85%.
See also
*
Los Angeles Prehospital Stroke Screen (LAPSS)
The Los Angeles Prehospital Stroke Screen (abbreviated LAPSS) is a method of identifying potential stroke patients in a pre-hospital setting.
Screening criteria
* No history of seizures or epilepsy
*Age 45 years or older
*At baseline, patient is ...
References
External links
* {{cite journal , vauthors=Kothari RU, Pancioli A, Liu T, Brott T, Broderick J , title=Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale: reproducibility and validity , journal=Ann Emerg Med , volume=33 , issue=4 , pages=373–8 , date=April 1999 , pmid=10092713 , doi= 10.1016/S0196-0644(99)70299-4
Stroke
Medical assessment and evaluation instruments