Binh Dinh Provincial General Hospital is an award-winning comprehensive centre located in Quy Nhon, a large seaport city in the South Central Coast region of Vietnam. On 31 May it co-hosted a regional stroke network meeting with Angels, with the aim of establishing collaboration with hospitals in the region.
The key objective of the event was to build an effective hub-and-spoke network to ensure eligible stroke patients receive timely thrombolysis at primary stroke centers (spokes), and that LVO patients are then expeditiously transferred to the comprehensive stroke center or hub for thrombectomy, within the critical time windows.
Stroke remains a leading cause of mortality and disability in Vietnam, with an estimated 200,000 new cases occurring annually. Of these, approximately 62% are ischemic strokes due to small vessel occlusion (SVO), while 38% are large vessel occlusion (LVO)1 cases requiring bridging treatment, including both thrombolysis and thrombectomy, to achieve optimal outcomes.
This regional stroke network meeting brought together for the first time the Board of Directors from Binh Dinh General Hospital (GH), Khanh Hoa GH, Phu Yen GH, and Gia Lai GH. Exceeding initial expectations, the participating hospitals agreed to establish a group for telemedicine and to facilitate the coordination of patient transfers.
The Angels team in Vietnam are executing a regional strategy focused on building hub-and-spoke networks in remote areas such as Gia Lai, Kon Tum (Highland), Vung Tau (South), Da Nang (Center), Ninh Binh, Ha Giang (North), An Giang, Kien Giang and Dong Thap (MKD).
Their efforts demonstrate the potential for saving more lives through the implementation of a streamlined, regionally-integrated stroke care system.
