The Cardiovascular
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Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Severity Scale (CP-SSS)

Prehospital screen for large-vessel occlusion stroke.

Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Severity Scale (CP-SSS)
Conjugate gaze deviation present
Corresponds to NIHSS gaze score 1-2.
Incorrectly answers >=1 level-of-consciousness question AND does not follow >=1 command
Cannot hold arm up for 10 seconds (arm falls)
Result0 points

Score <2 makes large-vessel occlusion less likely.

Large-vessel occlusion likely
No

When to use

  • Prehospital or ED triage of suspected acute stroke to predict large-vessel occlusion.

Formula

Conjugate gaze deviation 2; impaired LOC questions and commands 1; arm weakness 1. Range 0-4; >=2 predicts LVO.

Pearls and pitfalls

  • Derived from a subset of NIHSS items to be usable by paramedics.
  • A negative score does not exclude stroke or LVO.

References

  1. Katz BS, McMullan JT, Sucharew H, et al. Stroke. 2015;46(6):1508-12.