Page 24 - Christiana Care Health System Focus September 2018

Acute Medicine | Acutestroke CONTINUED
In this image from a RAPID CT Perfusion scan, a small area
of brain tissue permanently injured from this patient’s stroke is shown in pink on
the left, while a much larger area of viable brain tissue at risk of permanent injury is shown in green on the right. Neurointerventional surgeons at Christiana Hospital use this information to select which patients might benefit from emergent mechanical thrombectomy.
community and rehabilitation facilities statewide meet quarterly to reassess what is the best care for the treatment of stroke patients across the state.
Time is brain
While the extended treatment window for stroke treatment dramatically increases the number of patients Christiana Care stroke specialists may able to help with mechanical thrombectomy, Drs. Albani and Sivapatham caution that it in no way means patients should take their time calling for Nhelp when they suspect a stroke.
early two million neurons, or brain cells, die every minute that a clot blocks blood flow to the brain.
Said Dr. Sivapatham, “We have a saying, ‘Time is brain.’ We know for a fact that time is of the essence in stroke — the longer you wait to seek treatment, the chance of a good outcome is reduced minute by minute.”
Dr. Albani said she worries that many people don’t realize that a stroke is an emergency of the same degree as a heart attack. They ignore symptoms or wait to see if they will go away.
“For every 15 minutes of delay, you lose significant chance of good functional outcome,” said Dr. Albani. “Thanks to
RAPID CT perfusion capabilities, we now are able to treat more patients further out from the onset of their stroke symptoms, but you still must get to the hospital as soon as possible.”
While not every patient will meet the strict criteria for mechanical thrombectomy beyond six hours, Doug Huisenga, MPT, ATC, Neuroscience program manager, said the information now available to specialists thanks to RAPID CT perfusion software gives more people a shot at recovery.
“We provide the best possible stroke care as fast, if not faster, than anybody in the nation," he said. "We treat large numbers of patients with stroke every day — because when your life depends on it, experience matters.” 
“For every 15 minutes of delay, you lose significant chance of good functional outcome. Thanks to RAPID CT perfusion capabilities, we now are able to treat more patients further out from the onset of their stroke symptoms, but you still must get to the hospital as soon as possible.”
Barbara J. Albani, M.D.
Watch the video about our stroke care at https://news.christianacare.org
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