A map showing the 17 hospitals in HCM City equipped to treat stroke patients (Source: http://www.medinet.hochiminhcity.gov.vn)Hanoi (VNA) - The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health has uploaded alist of 17 hospitals that are capable of receiving and treating stroke victimson its website.
Several stroke patients have died because they were taken to health facilitiesthat lacked the capability, Dr Nguyen Huy Thang, Chairman of the Ho Chi MinhCity Stroke Association and head of the cerebrovascular diseases department atthe People’s Hospital 115, told a recent meeting held to review emergencyactivities in the city.
The 17 hospitals are People’s Hospital 115, Ho Chi Minh City University MedicalCentre of Ho Chi Minh City, Cho Ray Hospital, Thong Nhat Hospital, Gia DinhPeople’s Hospital, Thu Duc District Hospital, Xuyen A Hospital, Gia An 115Hospital, City International Hospital, Hoan My Sai Gon Hospital, Military Hospital175, International Neurosurgery Hospital, Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital, TrungVuong Hospital, District 2 Hospital, An Binh Hospital, and Tan Phu DistrictHospital.
They all have dedicated facilities to treat strokes with two to 140 beds.
Many of them perform vascular intervention and brain surgery and use medicationlike clot-busting drugs.
The Stroke Centre with 140 patient beds at the People’s Hospital 115 is thelargest and well equipped for treatment. It was the first in Asia to beaccredited for meeting Gold Treatment Quality Standards of the European StrokeAssociation.
Recently, the Ho Chi Minh City University Medical Centre became the second to achievethe gold quality standard.
The People’s Hospital 115 and Gia An Hospital 115 use a RAPID neuroimagingplatform to identify stroke patients most likely to benefit from endovascularthrombectomy, a procedure to remove a blood clot under image guidance.
RAPID computed tomography-perfusion and RAPID magnetic resonance-perfusionenable doctors to select acute stroke patients with known occlusion of theinternal carotid artery or proximal middle cerebral artery for the procedure.
The rate of patients saved is only 20 percent because treatment is onlyeffective when carried out within the ‘golden’ six hours after a person gets astroke, according to the hospitals.
The People’s Hospital 115 admits nearly 1,200 stroke patients every year, butonly 19.4 percent are brought within the critical period.
The University Medical Centre of Ho Chi Minh City admits 100 - 200 every month,but only 8 percent come in time.
Thang said late detection and treatment is the main cause of the high mortalityrate.
A stroke is easy to detect: Patients have a drooping face, weakness in the armsand speech difficulties.
Yet many delay going to a health facility, Thang said.
Most strokes are caused by clots blocking blood flow to an area of brain, andtreatment is aimed at removing the clots, he said.
Le Bao Huy from the emergency department at Thong Nhat Hospital said time isprecious for stroke patients: “Time lost is brain lost.”
Patients, especially seniors, brought to emergency departments should bechecked for a stroke and procedures should be performed to remove blood clotsas soon as possible, he said.
In Vietnam, nearly 200,000 people suffer from strokes each year, according tothe Ho Chi Minh City Stroke Association. The mortality and disability rate isstill high due to a variety of reasons, including hospitals limited inendovascular intervention capacity and the late hospitalisation of patients.
One of the most common causes of death and disability across the globe, strokecan happen to anyone at any age and at any time. Seniors are generally at highrisk though the rate of people aged below 45 suffering from a stroke hasincreased to account for nearly 30 percent now. – VNA
