Goa Stroke Project: Outcome better as district hospitals step in

PANAJI: With Goa recording a rise in stroke cases, the Goa Stroke Project, a joint venture between health services and GMC, was launched two months ago.

Under the project, services have been made available at the two district hospitals. The project rests on the strategies of early diagnosis by using CT scans and prompt thrombolysis of acute ischemic stroke patients.

“The project will help curb the escalating disabilities and deaths due to strokes,” a health officer said. “We aim to diagnose early and offer immediate treatment as time is of immense importance in dealing with stroke patients.”

A patient with ischemic stroke must receive treatment within the first four to five hours, referred to as the golden period.

If treatment is delayed, the health officer said, the patient may still survive but may have to live with paralysis, a completely irreversible phenomenon. “The moment the diagnosis is confirmed, a patient is thrombolysed with a thrombolytic agent — injected with 20mg of tenecteplase. Then the rest of the treatment is started,” the health officer said.

If a patient is critical and needs advanced treatment, he or she is transferred to GMC after being thrombolysed.

In the treatment protocol, the 108 EMRI ambulance service plays a vital role. It alerts the stroke response team at the district hospital. If a patient receives a major part of treatment at a district hospital, and is not required to be taken to GMC, the ambulance service later shifts the patient to a primary health centre for treatment and physiotherapy.

Since mid-January, six patients were thrombolysed at South Goa District Hospital and two at North Goa District Hospital. The treatment is free, the health officer said. In the past, stroke patients were referred to GMC, he said. Now with treatment also being available at district hospitals, patients with stroke can expect early recovery and get back to their normal routine.

“If an earning member of any family suffers a stroke, and if he or she is employed in the unorganised sector, the economic condition will be affected if immobility results from the stroke,” he said.