Hybrid CT Angio Suite for Acute Ischemic Stroke: A New Time-Saving Workflow Model?

Objectives: Explore the effect of the introduction of a hybrid CT angio suite on the in-hospital workflow time of patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods: This was a retrospective observational case-control study. All consecutive patients admitted to our emergency department with suspected ischemic stroke who underwent stroke imaging and mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in the new hybrid CT angio suite from October 2023 to March 2024 were included in the study. The primary outcome was the evaluation of in-hospital workflow times by the assessment of both the time from hospital admission to the beginning of the endovascular treatment (door-to-groin time, DTG) and the time from the interpretation of imaging to arterial puncture (CT-to-groin time, CTTG). The secondary aim was the evaluation of the clinical outcome through the evaluation of the mRS at 3 months. These data were compared to the control group. Results: Between October 2023 and March 2024, 50 consecutive patients with suspected ischemic stroke underwent neuroimaging and MT in the hybrid CT angio suite. We observed a significant reduction of the median DTG time from 71 min to 36 min (p < 0.001) and the median CT-to-groin time from 44 min to 12 min (p < 0.001) compared to the control group. Conclusions: The introduction of the hybrid CT angio suite dedicated to acute ischemic stroke has definitely reduced in-hospital delays, allowing better management of these patients.