Mission Thrombectomy 2020+ (MT2020+), a global campaign of Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology (SVIN), publishes “Mechanical Thrombectomy for Acute Stroke. Building Thrombectomy Systems of Care in Your Region: Why and How,” a White Paper targeted towards health policymakers, as part of World Stroke Day.
The paper examines the widespread inaccessibility and geographical disparities in receiving Mechanical Thrombectomy (MT), an interventional treatment that could provide benefits for a common type of disabling stroke.
MT needs to be performed within the first 24 hours of the onset of stroke symptoms for disabling stroke from a large artery being suddenly blocked in the brain (commonly called LVO stroke), and its outcomes are highly time-sensitive, especially early on.
A Worldwide Call to Action
The White Paper report calls for sweeping increase in MT awareness, accessibility, and action on a worldwide level, according to a media release from Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology.
Currently, the United States is a global leader in MT patient care, but the burden of care is almost 4-5 times greater in many lower to middle income countries. According to MT2020, the data on stroke patients and the level of care they receive are as follows.
- Each year, approximately 13.67 million people suffer from strokes worldwide
- 20-30% of all ischemic stroke cases are due to a large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke, which makes them eligible for highly effective MT treatment
- Less than 10% of eligible LVO stroke patients receive MT, leaving approximately two million people in need for this procedure but unable to receive it.
The two main goals set forth by the MT2020 initiative and detailed in the report are:
- Implement public health interventions to double global access to MT treatments every two years for the next decade
- Performing 202,000 MT procedures worldwide by the end of 2020
“Large vessel occlusion stroke is a long-standing silent global crisis that now has a highly effective solution since the last five years: Mechanical Thrombectomy. However, thrombectomy care isn’t widely accessible with colossal geographic disparities on a global level.
“We are calling on public health policymakers to increase physical, financial and diagnostic access to thrombectomy for patients with disabling stroke to prevent a lifetime of suffering and death.”
— Dr Dileep Yavagal, MT2020 Chair and GEC Co-Chair and Past-President of SVIN
Further Perspective
The White Paper also provides perspective on:
- Cost-effectiveness of patient care afforded by successful implementation of MT protocols
- Tracking metrics and analytics made available through the dedicated MT2020 Global Thrombectomy Tracking (GTT) app
- Educational tools for members of the community
- Training initiatives for EMS and healthcare professionals
- Building Thrombectomy Systems-of-Care in the community
- Improving inter-hospital transfers for MT patients
The White paper’s long-term goal is the emergence and widespread availability of Mechanical Thrombectomy as the standard of care globally. While progress has been made since the formation of MT2020 in 2016, there is still an imminent need for continued efforts, per the release.
[Source(s): Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology, PR Newswire]
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