National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (tool)

RRID:SCR_001804

The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) is a systematic assessment tool that provides a quantitative measure of stroke-related neurological deficit. The NIHSS was originally designed as a research tool to measure baseline data on patients in acute stroke clinical trials. Now, the scale is also widely used as a clinical assessment tool to evaluate acuity of stroke patients, determine appropriate treatment, and predict patient outcome. The NIHSS can be used as a clinical stroke assessment tool to evaluate and document neurological status in acute stroke patients. The stroke scale is valid for predicting lesion size and can serve as a measure of stroke severity. The NIHSS has been shown to be a predictor of both short and long term outcome of stroke patients. Additionally, the stroke scale serves as a data collection tool for planning patient care and provides a common language for information exchanges among healthcare providers. Performing the scale takes between 5-8 minutes. Emergency physicians and nurses, neurologists, neuroscience nurses and other stroke team members are typical examples of who should be certified to perform the NIHSS. The NINDS/NIH training and testing DVD can be obtained from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Sponsors: NIHSS is supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).