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. 2022 Oct 28:13:1016376.
doi: 10.3389/fneur.2022.1016376. eCollection 2022.

Stroke services in the Middle East and adjacent region: A survey of 34 hospital-based stroke services

Amal M Al Hashmi  1 , Ashfaq Shuaib  2 , Yahia Imam  3 , Dareen Amr  4 , Hani Humaidan  5 , Firas Al Nidawi  6 , Ahmed Sarhan  7 , Wessam Mustafa  8 , Wael Khalefa  9 , Ismail Ramadan  10 , Fritz Sumantri Usman  11 , Elyar Sadeghi Hokmabadi  12 , Mohammed Ghorbani  13 , Temeem Nassir  14 , Farid Aladham  15 , Athari Salmeen  16 , Raghid Kikano  17 , Sobri Muda  18 , Sachin Jose  19 , Manal Al Bulushi  20 , Badrai Sajwani  21 , Mohammad Wasay  22 , Qasim Bashir  23 , Adel Al Hazzani  24 , Waleed Khoja  25 , Radwan Alkadere  26 , Haytham Osman  27 , Abbashar Hussein  28 , Anchalee Churojana  29 , Nadia Hammami  30 , Atilla Ozcan Ozdemir  31 , Semih Giray  32 , Erdem Gurkas  33 , Seyd Irteza Hussain  34 , Abdul Rahman Sallam  35 , Ossama Yassin Mansour  36
Affiliations

Stroke services in the Middle East and adjacent region: A survey of 34 hospital-based stroke services

Amal M Al Hashmi et al. Front Neurol. .

Abstract

Background: Acute stroke care is complex and requires multidisciplinary networking. There are insufficient data on stroke care in the Middle East and adjacent regions in Asia and Africa.

Objective: Evaluate the state of readiness of stroke programs in the Middle East North Africa and surrounding regions (MENA+) to treat acute stroke.

Method: Online questionnaire survey on the evaluation of stroke care across hospitals of MENA+ region between April 2021 and January 2022.

Results: The survey was completed by 34/50 (68%) hospitals. The median population serviced by participating hospitals was 2 million. The median admission of patients with stroke/year was 600 (250-1,100). The median length of stay at the stroke units was 5 days. 34/34 (100%) of these hospitals have 24/7 CT head available. 17/34 (50%) have emergency guidelines for prehospital acute stroke care. Mechanical thrombectomy with/without IVT was available in 24/34 (70.6%). 51% was the median (IQR; 15-75%) of patients treated with IVT within 60 min from arrival. Thirty-five minutes were the median time to reverse warfarin-associated ICH.

Conclusion: This is the first large study on the availability of resources for the management of acute stroke in the MENA+ region. We noted the disparity in stroke care between high-income and low-income countries. Concerted efforts are required to improve stroke care in low-income countries. Accreditation of stroke programs in the region will be helpful.

Keywords: MENA+ region; MENA-SINO; stroke care; stroke centers; stroke units.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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