For patients with ischemic stroke who live in rural areas, flying a team to provide endovascular treatment (EVT) at the nearest primary stroke center did not yield significant clinical benefit compared with transferring the patients to a comprehensive stroke center, a new study shows.
The adjusted odds ratio (OR) of a good outcome was 1.26 for use of a flying intervention team (FIT) in comparison with transferring patients to an intervention center, but the difference was not statistically significant. A good outcome was defined as a Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 0 to 2 after 3 months.
Dr Gordian Hubert
Still, "With the deployment of the FIT, more patients received thrombectomy, the treatment was started 1.5 hours earlier, and clinical results trended towards a better outcome after 3 months than if patients had interhospital transfer," study author Gordian Hubert, MD, senior physician and TEMPiS telestroke network coordinator at the Munich Harlaching Clinic, in Munich, Germany, told Medscape Medical News.
He presented the results of his study at the European Stroke Organisation Conference (ESOC) 2021, which was held online.
Intervening in Rural Areas
EVT is an effective treatment for ischemic stroke but should be administered as quickly as possible for maximum benefit, the researchers note. Expertise in administering EVT is less common in rural areas than in cities, but transferring patients to intervention centers can result in treatment delays and worse outcomes.
