Diagnosis of stroke and stroke mimics in the emergency setting

Patients with suspected stroke require urgent evaluation in order to identify those who may be eligible for time-sensitive therapies. A focused and systematic approach to diagnosis improves the likelihood of identifying patients with probable ischemic stroke and minimizes the chances of exposing patients with alternate diagnoses to potentially harmful treatment. This chapter emphasizes the historical, examination, and neuroimaging findings useful in the rapid evaluation and diagnosis of patients with suspected ischemic stroke. Other entities that may present with strokelike symptoms will also be discussed. 2008,