Burden of large vessel occlusion stroke and the service gap of thrombectomy: A population-based study using a territory-wide public hospital system registry

Abstract

Background Ischemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion can be effectively treated with thrombectomy but access to this treatment is limited in many parts of the world. Local incidence of large vessel occlusion is critical in determining the development of thrombectomy service, but reliable data from Asian countries are lacking. Aims We performed a population-based study to estimate the burden of large vessel occlusion and the service gap for thrombectomy in Hong Kong. Methods All acute ischemic stroke patients admitted in 2016 to the public healthcare system, which provided 90% of the emergency healthcare in the city, was identified from the Hong Kong Hospital Authority’s central electronic database. The diagnosis of large vessel occlusion was retrospectively verified by two independent cerebrovascular specialists in a randomly sampled cohort based on clinical and neuroimaging data. The incidence of large vessel occlusion in the population was estimated through weighting the sample results and compared with the thrombectomy data in the same period. Results There were 6859 acute ischemic stroke patients treated in the public health system in 2016. Amongst the 300 patients randomly sampled according to diagnosis coding, 130 suffered from anterior circulation large vessel occlusion. This translated to 918 patients (95% CI 653–1180) and 13.3% of all ischemic stroke patients. The estimated incidence of anterior circulation large vessel occlusion was 12.5 per 100,000 persons per year (95% CI 11.7–13.4). Large vessel occlusion stroke patients were more commonly female than male (67.4% vs. 31.6%, p = 0.003), and were older than non-large vessel occlusion stroke patients (mean of 80.5 years vs. 71.4 years, p = < 0.001). They also had higher 30-day mortality rate (31.1% vs. 4.6%, p = < 0.001), and longer hospital stay (mean 38.6 vs. 21.1 days, p = 0.003) than non-large vessel occlusion stroke. In the same period, 83 thrombectomies for large vessel occlusion were performed, representing 9.1% of the estimated large vessel occlusion incidence. Conclusion The estimated incidence of anterior circulation large vessel occlusion in the Hong Kong Chinese population is lower than that in the West. There is however a substantial service gap for endovascular thrombectomy with less than 10% of large vessel occlusion patients receiving thrombectomy.

Acute Ischemic Stroke During the Convalescent Phase of Asymptomatic COVID-2019 Infection in Men

“…In most of the cohort (56%), large vessel occlusions were detected on initial computed tomography or magnetic resonance angiography imaging, and 7 patients (39%) had an anterior circulation large vessel occlusion. This percentage was higher than an estimated 13% of patients in Hong Kong who had an ischemic stroke and an anterior circulation large vessel occlusion . Even in patients without a large vessel occlusion, the infarct pattern suggested an embolic phenomenon from a proximal source.…”

“…This percentage was higher than an estimated 13% of patients in Hong Kong who had an ischemic stroke and an anterior circulation large vessel occlusion. 26 Even in patients without a large vessel occlusion, the infarct pattern suggested an embolic phenomenon from a proximal source. Further evaluation did not reveal the origin of any proximal thrombus or any atherosclerotic-related lesions.…”

Recombinant Human Perlecan DV and Its LG3 Subdomain Are Neuroprotective and Acutely Functionally Restorative in Severe Experimental Ischemic Stroke

“…While the recent adoption of endovascular therapies has significantly reduced stroke burden associated with LVO stroke by > 40% [39], an opportunity exists to further reduce this statistic as well as persistent post-stroke morbidity through application of novel neuroprotective therapies that can be administered either prior to or immediately upon reperfusion [40]. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time that rhPDV LG3 may fulfill a great unmet stroke therapy need, an outcome to be investigated in future clinical trials.…”

Automated Hierarchy Evaluation System of Large Vessel Occlusion in Acute Ischemia Stroke

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