Stroke care protocols and best practices are rapidly changing thanks to recent research that demonstrates the efficacy of intra-arterial interventional treatments over tPA in large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke patients.
And as these new techniques become the standard of care, they also necessitate a change in the way care teams approach stroke treatment beyond the technique itself: there is an "urgent need for integrated regionalized stroke care networks," according to a recent article siting experts Louis Caplan, MD, Anthony Furlan, MD, and Werner Hacke, MD, PhD.
To meet this aim, updates will be needed in the way stroke care is delivered at every stage of treatment. "The thrombectomy studies have created an ethical and practical mandate to upgrade stroke care," the physicians stated in a recent JAMA Neurology article. "This mandate will require changes in systems of stroke care delivery at all levels of care."