AUTHOR=Al Hashmi Amal. M. , Shuaib Ashfaq , Imam Yahia , Amr Dareen , Humaidan Hani , Al Nidawi Firas , Sarhan Ahmed , Mustafa Wessam , Khalefa Wael , Ramadan Ismail , Usman Fritz Sumantri , Hokmabadi Elyar Sadeghi , Ghorbani Mohammed , Nassir Temeem , Aladham Farid , Salmeen Athari , Kikano Raghid , Muda Sobri , Jose Sachin , Bulushi Manal Al , Sajwani Badrai , Wasay Mohammad , Bashir Qasim , Al Hazzani Adel , Khoja Waleed , Alkadere Radwan , Osman Haytham , Hussein Abbashar , Churojana Anchalee , Hammami Nadia , Ozdemir Atilla Ozcan , Giray Semih , Gurkas Erdem , Hussain Seyd Irteza , Sallam Abdul Rahman , Mansour Ossama Yassin TITLE=Stroke services in the Middle East and adjacent region: A survey of 34 hospital-based stroke services JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology VOLUME=13 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.1016376 DOI=10.3389/fneur.2022.1016376 ISSN=1664-2295 ABSTRACT=Background

Acute stroke care is complex and requires multidisciplinary networking. There are insufficient data on stroke care in the Middle East and adjacent regions in Asia and Africa.

Objective

Evaluate the state of readiness of stroke programs in the Middle East North Africa and surrounding regions (MENA+) to treat acute stroke.

Method

Online questionnaire survey on the evaluation of stroke care across hospitals of MENA+ region between April 2021 and January 2022.

Results

The survey was completed by 34/50 (68%) hospitals. The median population serviced by participating hospitals was 2 million. The median admission of patients with stroke/year was 600 (250–1,100). The median length of stay at the stroke units was 5 days. 34/34 (100%) of these hospitals have 24/7 CT head available. 17/34 (50%) have emergency guidelines for prehospital acute stroke care. Mechanical thrombectomy with/without IVT was available in 24/34 (70.6%). 51% was the median (IQR; 15–75%) of patients treated with IVT within 60 min from arrival. Thirty-five minutes were the median time to reverse warfarin-associated ICH.

Conclusion

This is the first large study on the availability of resources for the management of acute stroke in the MENA+ region. We noted the disparity in stroke care between high-income and low-income countries. Concerted efforts are required to improve stroke care in low-income countries. Accreditation of stroke programs in the region will be helpful.