Time is critical. Every minute that passes until treatment for a stroke, 1.9 million neurons are lost and every 15 minutes without receiving adequate care reduces one month of disability-free life. With the aim of saving time and minimizing the response time, the Vall d’Hebron hospital in Barcelona has revolutionized patient care through a pioneering program.
After a year of trials, the One Step Ictus program is ready to be applied in a conventional way and was presented today. It represents a transformation of care for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke patients based on the concentration of the entire approach in a single room: directly from the ambulance or emergency service to the One Step Stroke room, where the diagnosis, clinical assessment, surgical intervention and stabilization.
“The pioneering technological solution of the One Step Ictus room combines a biplane angiograph to perform mechanical thrombectomy (removal of the thrombus that blocks blood circulation) with equipment to perform CT before, during and after the thrombectomy and evaluate the cerebral blood flow of the patient,” explained Manel Escobar, clinical director of the Diagnostic Imaging service.
Transferring the patient directly to the angiography room, where immediate examination and treatment are performed, almost doubles the likelihood of recovery from the most serious strokes. “We estimate that 48% can achieve practically total clinical recovery after undergoing a direct thrombectomy, compared to 27% of patients who follow the traditional circuit,” says Carlos Molina, head of the Neurology service and the Vall d’Hebron Stroke Unit.
It is estimated that about 560 patients a year will be able to benefit from the new treatment system. This hospital treated 1,945 people in the past, of which 1,433 had ischemic strokes, 180 had transient ischemic attacks and 64 had hemorrhagic strokes, among other types of accidents.
A pioneer in the world, the project has involved an investment of 18 million euros, co-financed with European Feder funds. The interventional neuroradiology space has been renovated and equipped with the most innovative technology to speed up diagnosis and intervention, through a joint venture formed by Medtronic and Siemens Healthineers.
The project incorporates the SmartStroke digital platform, which integrates the patient’s clinical history with the rest of the data generated in the hospital and facilitates remote monitoring, allowing vascular risk factors and rehabilitation to be monitored from home.
The Vall d’Hebron Stroke Unit is made up of a team of eight vascular neurologists, three neurointerventionists and two nurses per shift, as well as rehabilitators and social workers.
