April 08, 2021
It’s possible to start a successful stroke thrombectomy program in an experienced cardiac cath lab when cardiologists, neurologists, and radiologists work together closely, the experience at a single center in Prague, Czech Republic, suggests.
In the 7 years after the program launched, the team achieved outcomes similar to those seen in randomized trials conducted at experienced stroke thrombectomy centers, lead author Jakub Sulženko, MD, PhD (Charles University and University Hospital Kralovske Vinohrady), and colleagues report.
A good functional outcome defined as a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 0 to 2 at 90 days was observed in 47.9% of patients, right around the 46% rate from a meta-analysis of five randomized stroke thrombectomy trials. There did not appear to be a learning curve.