Saving #Precioustime for acute stroke patients in India

01 Oct 2021 Healthcare

Noida Hospital have been awarded a WSO Angels Award in recognition of their achievements in using data to take action and reduce the time to thrombolysis for stroke patients

The Neurology Department at Fortis Hospital in Noida is a major referral center for clinical cases from Eastern Delhi NCR and Western Uttar Pradesh. With more than 15 years’ experience in reperfusion therapy, this private hospital is a pioneer of thrombolysis in the Noida region.

Around 250 acute stroke patients per annum receive thrombolytic treatment in the hospital and by early 2020 their team had recorded a median door-to-treatment time of 50 minutes for intravenous thrombolysis. Under the leadership of the Director of Neurology Dr Jyoti Bala Sharma, Fortis Hospital enrolled with the Angels Initiative and started recording its data on the quality monitoring platform, RES-Q.

Data monitoring for acute stroke patients has made it very simple to identify and target areas to improve. Along with continuous data monitoring, multiple trainings for nurses and other HCPs facilitated by Dr Taryn Gautam of the Angels Initiative have helped raise the standard of acute stroke treatment, leading to Fortis Hospital achieving Diamond status in the WSO Angels Awards for the first quarter of 2021.

Despite the impact of the second wave of the Covid-9 pandemic on the acute stroke treatment protocol, interventions such as expedited Covid-19 screening for suspected stroke patients have seen Fortis Hospital claim its second WSO Angels Award in the second quarter of 2021.

Even after the second wave of Covid-19 hit India the hospital received an increased number of acute stroke patients. Aided by expedited Covid-19 screening for stroke patients, the hospital reduced its median door-to-treatment time to 25 minutes, with 90% of thrombolysed patients receiving treatment within 30 minutes of arrival and 10% of eligible patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy. In this, improved protocols and data monitoring and analysis of protocols in RES-Q played a critical role.

Further analysis revealed a need for improving post-acute care, specifically with regard to dysphagia screening. With the support of Neurology Coordinator Mrs Athira, nurses were trained in the procedure, leading to better outcomes post thrombolysis for acute stroke patients. Working with the Department of Cardiology to implement patient education about BEFAST has in turn lead to an increase in the number of patients arriving within the treatment window, with the result that ultimately more lives will be saved.

Find out more about WSO-Angels Awards.