The Los Angeles Motor Scale (LAMS) is a clinical calculator used to assess the severity of stroke in patients presenting with acute stroke symptoms. It is specifically designed for use in the pre-hospital setting, such as by emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, to quickly and accurately identify patients with severe stroke who may benefit from immediate intervention, such as thrombectomy.
The LAMS score is based on three simple motor tasks: facial droop, arm drift, and grip strength, each scored on a scale of 0-2 or 0-4. The total score ranges from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating more severe stroke.
There are no specific exclusion criteria for the use of the LAMS score, but it should be noted that it is primarily designed to assess motor impairment due to stroke and may not fully capture stroke severity in patients with non-motor symptoms or posterior circulation strokes.
Reference
Bijen Nazliel, Sidney Starkman, David S Liebeskind et al. A brief prehospital stroke severity scale identifies ischemic stroke patients harboring persisting large arterial occlusions. Stroke. 2008 Aug;39(8):2264-7.
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