Background and Purpose: Patients presenting with both stroke symptoms and trauma criteria pose a challenge in emergency care, often leading to delays, missed imaging, and poor communication. To address this, the Dual Activation Protocol was developed to activate both stroke and trauma teams simultaneously. The purpose is to improve coordination, reduce treatment delays, and enhance care quality for complex, dual-pathway emergencies. Methods: A multidisciplinary team including stroke and trauma services, emergency medicine, imaging, transfer center staff, and emergency department leadership developed a Dual Activation Protocol to simultaneously mobilize stroke and trauma teams for patients meeting criteria for both. Implementation included: establishing clear activation criteria, conducting targeted staff education across departments, integrating stroke orders into trauma workflows and revising CT protocols to prioritize imaging and reduce contrast load, streamlining transfer center communication, performing retrospective chart reviews to assess time-to-intervention and imaging completion and holding regular case reviews to refine the protocol and address operational barriers. This structured approach aimed to improve coordination and timely care for complex emergency presentations. Results: Dual Activation improved emergency department workflow and interdisciplinary coordination. Time-to-CT imaging met stroke benchmarks despite trauma complexity. Imaging completion rates increased, with fewer delays and missed scans. Staff reported greater confidence and clarity due to improved communication and role definition. High protocol adherence and regular case reviews supported ongoing refinements. The approach demonstrated that timely, coordinated care is achievable without compromising safety or efficiency. Conclusion: The Dual Activation Protocol has improved coordination and reduced delays in managing patients presenting with both stroke and trauma in the initial patients meeting the criteria. Clear activation criteria and streamlined workflows have supported timely imaging and intervention. Staff reported greater clarity and efficiency in responding to complex cases. These results demonstrate that dual activation can enhance emergency care without compromising safety or speed. Further data to be available prior to or for the presentation.
Forrest et al. (Thu,) studied this question.