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ShareSep. 19, 2011 — Time is of the essence when it comes to stroke treatment. But a new image guided technique could help shift the criterion from one that is determined by how long after the start of symptoms a patient receives medical care, suggests a small US study published online in the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery.
The researchers used computed tomography perfusion (CTP) to select 53 patients who would be suitable for interventional treatment, and found no difference in the recovery time or the 90 day survival rate between those whose symptoms had begun either less, or more, than six hours earlier.
Their findings lead them to conclude that the technique could enable more stroke patients to be successfully treated, particularly those who live further away from specialist medical care.
"The application of this approach may have a significant impact on the number of patients eligible for beneficial interventional therapy, especially those initially presenting to rural or community hospitals," they conclude.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by BMJ-British Medical Journal, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
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Journal Reference:
- Aquilla Turk, Jordan Asher Magarik, Imran Chaudry, Raymond D. Turner, Joyce Nicholas, Christine A. Holmstedt, Julio Chalela, Angela Hays, Christos Lazaridis, Edward Jauch, Marc Chimowitz, Tanya Turan, Robert Adams. CT perfusion-guided patient selection for endovascular treatment of acute ischemic stroke is safe and effective. Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery, 2011; DOI: 10.1136/neurintsurg-2011-010067
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
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