SVIN Develops Consensus Criteria for Standardizing Stroke Infrastructure to Improve Access to Clot Retrieval Therapies

MINNEAPOLIS, March 8, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Society for Vascular and Interventional Neurology (SVIN) has developed Stroke Interventional Laboratory Consensus (SILC) criteria to standardize stroke care worldwide.

"Brain attack care is now exploding with new devices and options, just as heart attack care grew rapidly in the 1990s," said Tanzila Shams, M.D., and lead author of a report on the criteria published February 26 in Interventional Neurology. "There is an unmet need to establish a new national standard to provide optimal, timely stroke care to all patients suffering from acute ischemic strokes."

The SILC criteria reflect the need to clearly distinguish stroke interventional lab capabilities at a time of rapid advancements in stroke treatment, including the use of stent retrieval devices, vacuum suction devices, and clot-busting drugs to save lives and reduce long-term damage to the brain. "Our hope is that these consensus criteria will provide the roadmap for growth of high quality stroke intervention labs worldwide similar to the growth of cardiac catheterization labs," said SVIN Past-President Tudor Jovin, M.D., co-author of the report.

To advance this goal, SVIN developed a "7M" management approach for standardizing stroke infrastructure and includes consensus criteria on Manpower, Machines, Materials, Methods, Metrics (volume), Metrics (quality), and Metrics (safety).

"National efforts in the uniform organization, accreditation, and certification of stroke intervention labs are more important than ever," said Vallabh Janardhan, M.D., and senior author of the report.  "For effective stroke therapy to reach millions of people, we need to have the right stroke infrastructure in place."  

In the past year, a series of landmark studies have demonstrated the benefit of stent retrieval devices by themselves or with vacuum aspirators or clot-busting medications for treating stroke patients. "Standardizing stroke interventional labs will increase treatment rates and help achieve SVIN's Mission 2020 goal of 200,000 clot retrieval procedures worldwide by the year 2020," said Dileep Yavagal, M.D., SVIN Past-President, and co-author of the report.

Currently, there are approximately 1,476 primary stroke centers that can provide clot-busting medications, and more than 170 comprehensive stroke centers in the U.S. whose capabilities include neurosurgical and catheter interventional treatments as well as medications.

"Although this tiered system of stroke centers has improved outcomes in the treatment of strokes, more emphasis is needed on the development and operations of the stroke intervention lab within a stroke center," said Janardhan. For instance, standardization is needed on emergency triage procedures for stroke patients, stroke interventional protocols and equipping, staffing and managing a stroke interventional lab.

"As we enter a new era of stroke care, national standards are needed to direct patients, families and emergency medical services (EMS) teams to the right center," said Raul Nogueira, M.D., SVIN President. "We believe SVIN's report on consensus criteria can provide a framework for developing those standards, leading to a higher level of care and better patient outcomes."

Please visit the SVIN website, www.svin.org for the complete Interventional Neurology report.

Media Contact: Janel Fick, Executive Director
Society of Vascular & Interventional Neurology (SVIN)
Telephone: (952) 646-2045
Email: [email protected]  
Website:  www.svin.org

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SOURCE Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology