Background: Acute neurological emergencies (particularly stroke and traumatic brain injury) are the main cause of death in Ecuador. There are currently no standardized training programs for the pre-hospital, hospital, and post-hospital management of neurocritical care patients in Ecuador.
Objective: To develop a program for the evaluation and management of neurological emergencies in Ecuador.
Materials and methods: this neurocritical care training and educational program will be a multidisciplinary collaboration between the Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston, TX (USA) and the Government of Ecuador (Yachay/Senescyt and Ministry of Health). The initial pilot project will be carried out at Hospital Eugenio Espejo, which is the largest public hospital in Quito and will be extended to other public hospitals in Ecuador.
Results: we will present at the WCN details of the various phases of the proposal: Phase 1: establishment of cooperative agreements (6-9 moths); Phase 2: set up multidisciplinary team and written management protocols (6 months); Phase 3: education and training of Ecuadorian healthcare professionals (physicians and nurses) and protocol implementation (12-18 months); Phase 4: pre and post-program implementation evaluation (6 months prior and 12 months after); and Phase 5: annual evaluation, national certification process, national training programs, and telemedicine program development (5-10 years).
Conclusions: This educational program will result in the following outcomes: prompt evaluation of neurological emergencies and immediate transport to specialized centers; implementation of national protocols; improved clinical outcomes; and improved public education.
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© 2015 Published by Elsevier Inc.
