The World Stroke Association (WSA) last August awarded Diamond, Platinum and Gold status in stroke treatment standards to 36 Vietnamese stroke centers.

Of these, seven hospitals won Diamond status, the highest award for quality in emergency care and stroke treatment worldwide, and nine hospitals received Platinum and 20 others Gold.

One of the first hospitals meeting the Gold standard in Vietnam was Le Van Thinh Hospital in HCM City.

Dr Nguyen Van Phuoc from the hospital said the unit meets the main criteria set by WSA, such as the number of stroke patients in a quarter and the rate of recanalization using Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator (rTPA).

At the medical facility, admitted stroke patients can access intravenous thrombolytic therapy within 43 minutes. The 43 minutes are the time for performing the procedures of examination, testing, CT scan, consultation and medication.

Dr Jeyaraj Durai Pandian, WSA chair, said Vietnam has made considerable progress over the last five years in stroke treatment with the establishment of many stroke centers in the country, and the treatment process has been standardized with the support of the Angels program. 

Vietnam is one of the leading countries in the region in the number of standardized stroke centers, second to Thailand.

According to the Vietnam Stroke Association’s deputy chair Prof Nguyen Huy Thang, there are 110 stroke centers/units. Early treatment for stroke patients helps reduce the disability rate and ease the burden on families and society.

However, Thang said that the current number of stroke units still cannot satisfy demand. In the world’s stroke map, Vietnam is among the countries with the highest ratios of stroke risks, 218 per 100,000 people, or 200,000 stroke cases a year.

each stroke unit treats an average of 2,000 patients a year. The figure is 300 patients in the US.

Vietnam needs 400 stroke units in the upcoming years, while the minimum figure is 200, which is high enough to gain the ratio of 1,000 patients per stroke unit per year.

Thang said many cities and provinces don’t have stroke treatment centers, while some localities have centers, but they don’t operate 24 hours, seven days a week. As a result, many patients miss opportunities to be treated during ‘golden hours’. In principle, pre-hospital first aid plays a very important role, because patients need to race against time to save every brain cell.

“The establishment of stroke units, with professional staff of physicians and nurses specially trained brings the biggest benefits to the community in many countries,” he said.

As patients need to be treated during the ‘golden time’, there should be enough hospitals in geographical distance to be sure that patients can be brought to stroke centers within 60 minutes since stroke onset, according to Thang.

Dr Nguyen Thi Phuong Nga from Thong Nhat Hospital in HCM City suggested that there should be one stroke center in every area or city, depending on the local population, and 2-4 satellite stroke units.

Under this model, medical facilities which don’t have stroke units will forward patients to satellite stroke units. In case the patients are seriously ill or need high-level intervention operations, they will be transferred to stroke centers.

Nga suggested that the Ministry of Health plan stroke units for cities and provinces in accordance with geographical distance and population.

Dr Nguyen Van Phuoc of Le Van Thinh Hospital said currently many stroke units still cannot deploy high-technique operations. In addition to rPTA, many patients need interventions.

Meanwhile, many people are not fully aware of the disease. They only go to hospital 2 or 3 days after onset. In many cases, they treat themselves with old folk remedies.

“It is necessary to use mass media to disseminate knowledge about strokes to people. They must understand that early discovery, the right first aid and hospitalization as soon as possible are the best solution to save brain cells and prevent disability,” he said.

Stroke is a condition in which the brain is seriously damaged due to interruption or significant decrease in cerebral blood supply. As a result, the brain falls into a state of lack of oxygen and insufficient nutrients to feed the cells.

Linh Giao