Urgent order cuts stroke patient rescue time in half at Tam Anh Hospital

Mr. Tran Huy (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City) suffered a stroke after flying, and was taken to Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City by his family in a state of numbness on one side of his body, his mouth slightly crooked, and difficulty speaking. The hospital's stroke emergency center immediately activated a special "Code Stroke" emergency order. After more than 20 minutes, using intravenous thrombolytic therapy (rTPA), doctors promptly intervened to save Mr. Huy's life, minimizing sequelae.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Minh Duc - Head of the Department of Neurology, Neurology Center, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City said that the "golden hour" in stroke emergency is the first 3 to 4.5 hours from the onset of the patient. The "diamond standard" in acute ischemic stroke emergency from the time the patient is admitted to the hospital until the intervention with thrombolytic drugs (called a needle window) by the WSO Angels Awards Organization (USA) is under 45 minutes.

With the "Code Stroke" procedure, the hospital has shortened the emergency time to less than 30 minutes. Depending on the case, for example, with Mr. Huy, this time was halved to more than 20 minutes, minimizing the consequences for many patients. Every minute that passes, a stroke will cause nearly 2 million brain cells to die, the longer it is left, the higher the risk of disability or death.

"Code Stroke" is a hospital-wide priority notification dedicated to stroke emergencies. This urgent order connects emergency departments, neurology, diagnostic imaging, etc., opening a separate path for patients. Patients are evaluated right in the emergency room with mobile machines and CT or MRI scans according to priority flow. Doctors read the results right on the screen, quickly consult and handle intervention with thrombolytic drugs right in the imaging room. After that, patients continue to be monitored, evaluated, treated, and receive physical therapy and rehabilitation.

Modern equipment such as 768-slice CT, 3 Tesla MRI... help doctors speed up the time to determine the type of stroke, location, extent of damage, predict the time of occurrence, and thereby choose the appropriate intervention method.

The order to reduce the time to save a stroke patient at Tam Anh Hospital by half. Image 1 — A male stroke patient was treated at Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for more than 20 minutes. Photo: Provided by the hospital

There are two types of stroke: cerebral infarction and cerebral hemorrhage. According to doctors , about 85% of cerebral infarction cases are caused by blood vessel blockage. 15% of cerebral hemorrhage cases are caused by ruptured blood vessels in the brain. Both require timely emergency treatment. For strokes caused by cerebral infarction, intravenous thrombolytic therapy (rTPA) helps dissolve blood clots that block blood vessels and can be applied within 6 hours of a stroke.

If the patient has a blockage in a large blood vessel, endovascular intervention to remove the clot will be applied, the time frame can be extended to 24 hours, reducing the mortality rate and increasing the recovery ability. For strokes caused by cerebral hemorrhage, open skull surgery with navigation devices or modern brain surgery with robots... will help clamp the ruptured blood vessel, prevent blood from flowing out of the brain, and remove the blood clot...

The order to reduce the time to save a stroke patient at Tam Anh Hospital by half. Image 2 — The patient received a 768-slice CT scan to help screen and provide quick stroke emergency care. Photo: Tam Anh General Hospital

The "Code Stroke" process was established with close coordination between specialties, the support of modern machinery to speed up the diagnosis process and prioritize patient transfer, open separate routes... To build "Code Stroke" , the hospital has conducted many drills, drawing experience in each stage of reception, coordination, multidisciplinary consultation...

Tam Anh General Hospital aims to shorten the stroke emergency time even further, even to 10, 15 minutes with the use of thrombolytic drugs. The stroke emergency time also depends on the severity of the disease and the decision of relatives. According to doctors, from before Tet until now, which is the time when the stroke rate is high, the hospital has received, intervened, and treated hundreds of medical and surgical cases.

*Character names have been changed.

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