TF4UKR Visit Report – Dr. Ruslan Salnikov

I had the opportunity to visit University Hospital Basel, stroke center at the invitation of the Prof. Dr. Urs Fischer. He is the chairman of the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital in Basel, Switzerland.

During the time I spent in the hospital, all the staff were very kind and responsive to me. The doctors were happy to share clinical cases and answer questions that arose. My day began with a morning round with the stroke center team of patients with a detailed study of the medical history, laboratory tests, neuroimaging and subsequent diagnostic measures. I observed a rehabilitation team working with stroke patients.

It was very interesting for me to see how all the modern research and recommendations are put into practice and to see the positive results. The hospital is conducting a lot of research aimed at improving care for patients with acute stroke.

As part of my visit, I spent a lot of time in the emergency department, where I observed the journey of an acute stroke patient from presentation, neuroimaging, to treatment decisions. Thrombolysis begins immediately after the exclusion of hemorrhage on the native CT scan in the CT room, and continues either in the department or in the angio-operating room, if there are indications for thrombectomy. Also saw patients with other neurological diseases who were admitted to the emergency department.

One of the most interesting events is weekly neuro conferences at which neurologists together with neuroradiologists discuss admitted patients, studied neuroimaging in detail and make decisions on diagnosis and treatment. I am very grateful to the stroke team University Hospital Basel for the interesting and informative days. Thanks to ESO and TF4UKR for this opportunity. It was two wonderful weeks where I compared two different healthcare systems. The knowledge I acquired will help me improve my care for patients with acute stroke and expanding this knowledge all over whole Ukraine!