Fairfax, Va., February 17, 2016 - The Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS) today joined 14 other neurointerventional medical societies in releasing new training guidelines for endovascular intervention in ischemic stroke patients. The guidelines were developed by an international, multidisciplinary group of neurointerventional medical societies and will be published in seven journals, including the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery. This is the first time that such a comprehensive group has come together to define the training requirements for physicians to safely and effectively perform inside-the-artery clot removal in the brain, known as neurointerventional surgery.
Ischemic stroke, which results from a blockage in a vessel supplying blood to the brain, accounts for 87 percent of all strokes in the United States and is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. The risk of long-term disability is even higher for patients with blockages in large vessels. Until recently, intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) was the only proven treatment for large vessel blockages. However, a number of recent clinical trials have provided sufficient evidence to establish neurointerventional surgery as the standard of care for ischemic stroke patients with large vessel blockages.
Given the intricacies of the brain, it is critical that endovascular treatment is administered in a stroke center by an experienced physician with a neuroscience background and dedicated neurointerventional training to ensure the best possible outcomes for the patient.
"Not all vascular systems are the same," said Dr. Karel terBrugge, the Chief of Neuroradiology at Toronto Western Hospital. "These guidelines underscore the importance of a collaborative acute stroke team approach, knowledgeable with respect to the clinical and imaging findings in acute stroke patients and the training needed to acquire the unique technical skills to operate in one of the body's most complex organs."
While treatment standards and training guidelines on various neurointerventional procedures, including endovascular therapy for ischemic stroke, have previously been developed and endorsed by SNIS and other multispecialty groups, these new guidelines are the first to result from the cumulative work of key international neurointerventional medical societies. The guidelines define the basic training and qualifications required of new practitioners who are not currently performing inside-the-artery clot removal in the brain, as well as the requirements of the hospitals where these procedures can be performed.
