Novel Blood Test Detects Large Vessel Occlusion Stroke

 So what is your competent? hospital going to do after this detection to get you 100% recovered? NOTHING? So you don't have a functioning stroke doctor or hospital, do you?

Novel Blood Test Detects Large Vessel Occlusion Stroke

A novel test that combines blood-based biomarkers with a clinical score can identify patients experiencing large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke with high accuracy, according to a study published in Stroke: Vascular and Interventional Neurology.

“We have developed a game-changing, accessible tool that could help ensure that more people suffering from stroke are in the right place at the right time to receive critical, life-restoring care(NOT RESULTS!),” said Joshua Bernstock, MD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.

“Mechanical thrombectomy has allowed people that otherwise would have died or become significantly disabled [to] be completely restored, as if their stroke never happened,” he continued. “The earlier this intervention is [implemented], the better the patient’s outcome is going to be. This exciting new technology has the potential to allow more people globally to get this treatment faster.”

In a previous study, researchers targeted 2 specific proteins found in capillary blood -- glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and D-dimer. They demonstrated that the levels of these blood-based biomarkers combined with field assessment stroke triage for emergency destination (FAST-ED) scores could identify LVO ischaemic strokes while ruling out other conditions, including brain bleeds.

For the current study, Yasir Durrani, MD, Brandon Regional Hospital, Brandon, Florida, and colleagues looked at data from a cohort of 323 patients coded for stroke in Florida between May 2021 and August 2022.

The researchers found that combining the levels of the biomarkers GFAP and D-dimer with FAST-ED data <6 hours from the onset of symptoms detected LVO strokes with 93% specificity and 81% sensitivity.

Notably, the test ruled out all patients with brain bleeds, signalling that the technology may ultimately also be employed to detect intracerebral haemorrhage in the field.

Next, the researchers are carrying out another prospective trial to measure the test’s performance when used in an ambulance.

“In stroke care, time is brain,” concluded Dr. Bernstock. “The sooner a patient is put on the right care pathway, the better they are going to do. Whether that means ruling out bleeds or ruling in something that needs an intervention, being able to do this in a prehospital setting with the technology that we built is going to be truly transformative.”

Reference: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/SVIN.123.001304

SOURCE:  Brigham and Women’s Hospital