Breakthrough in stroke treatment in Dong Nai

​Leader of Dong Nai General Hospital received Platinum certification from the World Stroke Association

The positive results

Dr. Specialist II, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Quang, Head of the Department of Neurology of Dong Nai General Hospital, said before 2015, the hospital did not have its own specialist in Neurology. In May 2015, when Dong Nai General Hospital operated in a new facility, the Department of Neurology was newly established. And the Stroke Unit is a unit directly under the Department of Neurology.

In the past, patients with neurological diseases such as epilepsy had to mostly transfer to the Central Psychiatric Hospital 2 or stroke patients had to move to higher level hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City to be treatment. For stroke patients, having to move to hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City will reduce the chances of the patient returning to a normal or almost normal life because the time factor is not guaranteed.

The Department of Neurology, despite being a "late birth" department, has made very proud progress. The Faculty currently has 15 doctors, of which 2/3 obtain postgraduate degrees. The doctors and nurses in the department are very enthusiastic, love their job, active and creative. Khoa is also equipped with a variety of modern equipment, machines, and medicines to treat stroke. As a result, the results of successful stroke treatment also increase with each year.

If in 2016, the rate of recurrent treatment for stroke patients of Dong Nai General Hospital reached more than 3.5%/1.4 thousand stroke patients, by 2019, there were 14.3% of diseases. Recurrent treatment/ nearly 2,000 patients with stroke received treatment. From the beginning of 2020, the hospital has received and treated more than 1 thousand stroke patients, of which 16% of the patients received recurrent treatment.

Stroke prevention

To achieve Platinum certification must include the solidarity and contribution of the whole team, from the attention, leadership and direction of the leaders of the Department of Health to leaders of Dong Nai General Hospital and related departments and divisions in hospital. That is a great motivation for the doctors of Dong Nai General Hospital to continue their efforts and try harder in the coming time.

Accordingly, patients with a stroke, after being admitted to the Emergency Department, the medical staff will carry out the treatment and initial treatment. After that, the Emergency Department invited the doctor of Internal Neurology to make an urgent consultation, the patient was taken to a CT scan at the Emergency Department. Neurologist gives medical orders for fibrinolytic therapy (for patients with prescription), the patient has a cerebrovascular CT scan, is intervened to take thrombosis with an instrument under the DSA system (patients major arterial occlusion) and referred to neurosurgery for continued treatment and care. In the Department of Neurology, patients will be done subclinical to find the cause of the stroke to have an effective prevention plan. During this time the patient also received physical therapy and early rehabilitation (usually after 24 hours). When leaving the hospital, doctors give advice for taking prescription drugs, follow-up on time, instruct diet, daily activities, quit smoking ... Thanks to the solidarity and good coordination between departments, rooms in the hospital and with You units where more and more stroke patients are saved back to normal lives.

According to Dr. Nguyen Dinh Quang, stroke patients can be saved lives or minimal sequelae if the emergency is timely and properly.

Stroke is easy to diagnose. If you find yourself or your loved one having the following symptoms, you should quickly go to the hospital for prompt examination, diagnosis and treatment. These are: the patients having normal activities suddenly has difficulty speaking, weak limbs, distorted mouth, lethargy, dizziness, loss of balance...

To prevent stroke, people need to control risk factors well. The leading risk is increased blood pressure (up to 80%), followed by diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, dyslipidemia, sedentary, smoking...

There are 2 main methods of treating stroke. That is taking thrombolytic drugs and interfering with blood clots with mechanical tools. With the method of using drugs to dissolve blood clots, the patient has a 50% chance to integrate into the community, to be able to live independently and return to normal work. If the patient has major embolism, it is necessary to intervene to take the blood clot with a mechanical device. This approach will give patients more opportunities than just using drugs.

Bao Ngoc