Evidence mapPaperPMID 41323225Full record

ArticleFrontiers in neurology2025

Telestroke management during the Hajj seasons 2023-2024: insights from SEHA Virtual Hospital in KSA.

Ghadah Sulaiman Alsaleh, Abdulaziz Suliman A Alhomod, Anas Khan, Saeed S Alzahrani

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Article in Frontiers in neurology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

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0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Ghadah Sulaiman AlsalehGlobal Center for Mass Gathering Medicine, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Abdulaziz Suliman A AlhomodSEHA Virtual Hospital, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Anas KhanSEHA Virtual Hospital, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Saeed S AlzahraniSEHA Virtual Hospital, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: The Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia poses significant healthcare challenges due to overcrowding and high demand. Stroke, a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, necessitates timely management, with telemedicine providing crucial remote access to specialized care. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the demographic and clinical characteristics of pilgrims who experienced strokes and utilized telemedicine during the Hajj seasons of 2023 and 2024, focusing on identifying changes in patient profiles and treatment patterns over time. Methods and materials: A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from SEHA Virtual Hospital (SVH) during the Hajj seasons of 2023 and 2024. The study included 459 adult stroke patients (207 in 2023 and 252 in 2024) who completed telemedicine consultations. Demographic and clinical data, including stroke types and treatment details, were retrospectively analyzed. Statistical comparisons were performed using chi-square and Mann-Whitney Results: The mean age of patients was 64.13 years in 2023 and 62.43 years in 2024. Non-Saudi patients constituted 69% in 2023, decreasing to 62% in 2024, while Saudi patients increased from 31 to 38%. Male patients rose from 57% in 2023 to 62% in 2024. Diagnoses showed significant variation: ischemic strokes increased from 46% in 2023 to 73% in 2024, while hemorrhagic strokes and other miscellaneous conditions decreased, and TIAs showed a slight increase. TPA administration remained stable at 23% in both years, and the median time to TPA administration showed no significant difference. Conclusion: The consistent application of a centralized telestroke service during the Hajj demonstrates that telemedicine is a viable and scalable strategy for delivering specialized stroke care in mass gathering settings. This model successfully managed a large, diverse patient cohort and maintained stable acute treatment rates, underscoring its potential to enhance health system resilience and equity during the most logistically challenging events.

Indexed as

Hajjischemic strokemass gatheringsstroketelemedicinetelestrokethrombolysis

Identifiers

PMID41323225
PMCPMC12657502

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.