DON’T MISS THE GOLDEN TIME FOR STROKE!

“Stroke patients can recover if they receive timely intervention, so what should we do to not miss the “golden time”? From those concerns, over the past nearly 20 years, Dr. Mai Duy Ton and his colleagues have gradually brought the specialty of stroke “popular” to the provincial and district levels.”

Original Article from https://tuoitre.vn/bac-si-mai-duy-ton-va-nhung-dau-dau-rut-ngan-duong-den-benh-vien-cho-nguoi-benh-dot-quy-20250113102701954.htm

Doctor Mai Duy Ton and his concern to shorten the way to the hospital for stroke patients

Stroke patients can recover if they receive timely intervention, so what should we do to not miss the “golden time”? From those concerns, over the past 20 years, Dr. Mai Duy Ton and his colleagues have gradually brought the specialty of stroke “popularization” to the provincial and district levels.

Having a relationship with the specialty of stroke since he was a resident physician, at the age of 48, Dr. Mai Duy Ton is the teacher of many stroke doctors and the director of the Stroke Center of Bach Mai Hospital.

He is also laying the foundations for the development of the stroke department at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy (Hanoi National University), and actively developing this specialty in the Northern region.

Over the past 5 years, many more stroke units have been established nationwide, many patients have received timely intervention, recovered and returned to their daily lives.

Tuoi Tre had a conversation with Dr. Mai Duy Ton about the journey to create “turning points” for the stroke profession in Vietnam.

“Made in Vietnam” stroke treatment protocol

  • How did you start with the stroke profession?
  • That time was 2007, luckily I had the opportunity to go to the US to attend a course. Here I saw that their stroke treatment was diagnosed early, treated promptly and recovered, leaving few sequelae. Meanwhile, in Vietnam at that time, when talking about stroke patients, doctors as well as the patient’s family considered it a “period” in life, the patient had little chance to return to normal life.

Seeing their achievements, I was determined to pursue this technique. I proposed to the leaders to do in-depth research on the stroke profession, conduct in-depth research topics and then study in Europe.

By 2009, thrombolysis techniques had been applied to stroke patients. Many patients were treated promptly, after one hour of using the drug, they fully recovered, spoke, and lived normally, and were discharged from the hospital 1-2 days later.

When focusing on in-depth research in the field of stroke and from the knowledge I had learned, I proposed that the hospital establish a stroke center so that patients could receive the best care. Fortunately, with the support of the hospital’s board of directors, in 2020, the Bach Mai Hospital Stroke Center was officially established.

  • What applications have you made to stroke treatment for Vietnamese people from the techniques learned in European countries?
  • From the techniques learned in the US, when I returned to Vietnam, I chose a method of application suitable for the Vietnamese physique. In European and American countries, they use high-dose thrombolytics, but in Vietnam, I have studied the use of low-dose thrombolytics.

I learned that Japan also uses low-dose thrombolytics, which is also suitable for Vietnamese people. The research on using low-dose thrombolytics also helps clinical practice in Vietnam.

Currently, many medical facilities apply this technique, which is both effective in treatment and saves patients when the treatment cost is only half of the normal dose.

Building a stroke network in Vietnam

  • Time is very important for stroke patients, what do you and your colleagues do to give stroke patients the opportunity to receive treatment as soon as possible?
  • I remember 3-4 years ago, a very healthy male patient went on a business trip to Dong Van, Ha Giang and had a stroke. The patient had to travel a long distance to Bach Mai Hospital for treatment. At that time, it was past the “golden hour”, thrombolysis could no longer be used, only medical treatment was used. The patient had brain damage and would take a long time to recover.

How to shorten the way to the hospital for stroke patients. The “golden hour” for intervention is six hours from the onset of the stroke. Therefore, the most important thing is to expand the network of stroke departments from the grassroots level to save many patients.

Establishing stroke units/departments in hospitals will help stroke patients receive more specialized care. Instead of having to stay in many departments, patients will be cared for in specialized departments with trained nurses. Stroke patients have a very high risk of aspiration, and specialized medical staff will provide better care. Or immobile patients need rehabilitation training…

In recent years, the country has established 124 stroke centers/departments/units. We support training for hospitals such as Hai Phong, Hai Duong, Phu Tho, Nghe An… Each hospital with a stroke unit will increase the opportunity for early treatment for patients.

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