Nurse-led care linked to faster stroke treatment and better recovery in review

Researchers reviewed 32 existing studies to see if nurse-led care helps adults who have had a stroke. They looked at how this type of care affected treatment speed, recovery, and survival. The review found that when nurses led the care, patients received time-sensitive clot-busting medication faster. Patients also showed better scores on tests of brain function and daily living abilities after their stroke. However, the review did not find a clear link between nurse-led care and whether patients lived or died. The main reason to be careful is that this was a review of many different studies, not a single new experiment. The studies varied in how they were set up and what they compared the nurse-led care to. Readers should understand that this research supports the value of specialized nursing in stroke teams. It realistically suggests that well-organized nurse-led protocols can help get treatment started quicker and may support better recovery, but its effect on saving lives remains unclear from this analysis.