By implementing a series of procedural and technological innovations, Skåne University Hospital in Lund and 13 local hospitals in the area have greatly improved the patient pathway in the stroke network of southern Sweden. Saving valuable time was a prime objective but also the identification of more patients eligible for endovascular thrombectomy.
Distance is a major challenge in Sweden’s southernmost stroke network that encompasses the regions of Skåne, Blekinge and southern Småland. The Comprehensive Stroke Center (CSC) at the University Hospital in Lund is located in the very south of this large catchment area. This means that it can take up to three hours to get a patient there from some of the Primary Stroke Centers (PSC) at the local hospitals in the region. To address this situation, the network has implemented a number of procedural changes and technological improvements in order to gain time across the entire stroke pathway but also to optimize the identification of patients with ischemic stroke who can profit from endovascular thrombectomy (EVT).
The Comprehensive Stroke Center (CSC) at Skåne University Hospital in Lund treats about 250 cases per year and receives patients from the entire southern region of Sweden with its 13 Primary Stroke Centers (PSC) in Skåne, Blekinge, and southern Småland. More than half of the cases occur during off hours, i.e., after 4 p.m. and on weekends.