national-clinical-guidelines-for-stroke-fourth-edition

National clinical guideline for stroke
Specialist A clinician whose practice is limited to a particular branch of medicine or
surgery, especially one who is certified by a higher educational organisation.
Specificity The ability of a test to detect the right problem.
Splint A custom or ready-made external device to support a joint or limb in a
certain position.
Stenosis Abnormal narrowing of a blood vessel.
Stenting A metal mesh tube is placed in an artery or blood vessel to increase blood
flow to an area blocked by stenosis.
Stroke The damaging or killing of brain cells starved of oxygen as a result of the
blood supply to part of the brain being cut off. Types of stroke include:
ischaemic stroke caused by blood clots to the brain, or haemorrhagic stroke
caused by bleeding into the brain.
Stroke liaison Someone whose aim is to return patients and their carers to normal roles
worker by providing emotional and social support and information, and liaising
with services to improve aspects of participation and quality of life.
Subluxation An incomplete or partial dislocation of a joint.
Systematic review A way of combining the findings from a variety of different research
studies, to better analyse whether the studies have provided a convincing
answer to a research question.
Telemedicine The use of telecommunication and information technologies in order to
provide clinical healthcare at a distance.
Thrombolysis The use of drugs to break up a blood clot. An example of a thrombolysis
drug is alteplase, also sometimes called tPA.
Thrombosis A formation of a blood clot.
Transdermal A route of administration where active ingredients are delivered across the
skin.
Transient ischaemic A stroke that recovers within 24 hours from the onset of symptoms.
attack (TIA)
Venography An X-ray test that provides an image of the leg veins after a contrast dye is
injected into a vein in the patient’s foot.
Video fluoroscopy A test for assessing the integrity of the oral and pharyngeal stages of the
swallowing process. It involves videotaping X-ray images as the patient
swallows a bolus of barium.
Agnosia The inability for a patient to recognise or make proper sense of sensory
information.
Visual analogue A scoring system used in questionnaires that assesses for subjective
scale characteristics or attitudes that cannot be directly measured.
WHO World Health Organization.
Xanthochromia The yellowish appearance of cerebrospinal fluid that occurs after bleeding
into the fluid usually after subarachnoid haemorrhage.
xxii © Royal College of Physicians 2012