By Dr. Inna Lutsenko

ESO Social Media Committee

Twitter: @inna_lutsenko,

Rajiv Advani

Oslo University Hospital, Norway

Twitter: @rajeroni

This week we will introduce to you Rajiv Advani, who is an ESO Fellow and a stroke researcher at the leading stroke unit at Oslo University Hospital, Norway. This hospital is one of the favorite places for the internship for the ESO Department-to-Department programme for young ESO members.

Rajiv studied medicine in Prague in one of the oldest universities in Europe in continuous operation. Later he completed and successfully defended his scientific thesis and received a PhD in 2017 from the University of Bergen, Norway. Rajiv is now the sub-speciality lead for thrombectomy and a stroke neurologist at Oslo University Hospital, Norway. Rajiv has the scientific interest in critical care in neurology and contributed his professional skills to thrombolytic therapy implementation in stroke departments in Norway. Already in 2016, together with collaborators, he analysed retrospectively 634 acute ischemic stroke patients receiving IVT treatment at the Department of Neurology, Stavanger University Hospital and discovered that the median DTN time fell from 64 minutes in 2009 to 29 minutes in 2015 (1). This stroke center is consistently treating every eighth patient (18.2%, 14.8%, 12.5% and 14.5%) within the Golden Hour (2) which is impressive.

In addition to organisational and educational changes for the DTN improvement at his hospital, Rajiv ran with colleagues a month-long stroke awareness campaign among the population of Norway. Being involved in stroke logistics and thrombolytic therapy research, they showed that treating patients within one hour of symptom onset leads to excellent outcomes, without any incidence of iatrogenic bleeds (2). In their paper “Thrombectomy in large vessel occlusion stroke—Does age matter?” Rajiv and coauthors showed that age seems to have a minor role in predicting neurological improvement after EVT but has an impact on long-term functional outcome (3).

Rajiv and I met during ESOC 2022, and I was impressed with Rajiv´s positive energy, which allowed him to integrate in a competitive research center already a few years ago, by his strong desire to improve stroke services in his country, as well as to contribute to the ESO growth and by his sense of humor and human qualities.

Please tell a little bit about yourself and why are you a member of the ESO?

My name is Rajiv Advani and I’m a stroke neurologist working at Oslo University Hospital in Norway. I have been a member of ESO for almost a decade. Membership in this scientific community is motivational as well as educational. I have learned a lot through workshops, events, congresses and in later years through the ESJ. I feel strongly about translating research into clinical practice and membership in the ESO is a great way of helping me achieve that.

Why are you regularly attending ESOC?

I am attending ESOC because it gives me the opportunity to meet colleagues both nationally and internationally in a setting where we can discuss new research, share ideas, and catch up.

Please share the experience of presenting during one of the ESOC if you ever had one.

I have presented posters and had oral presentations at ESOC. I think I was most nervous while preparing the first poster which was going to be displayed physically and that had to be transported in person. Carrying this poster around with me at the airport and on the airplane left me in some way bonded to it. Presenting orally was a great experience and having also done this during the pandemic at the virtual ESOC I realised what a huge difference it makes actually being there.

Why is sharing the research results on the ESOC Platform one of the steps for the building a network with peers and what are your encouragement words?

Sharing results of large clinical trials inspires me to implement new research into practice while smaller studies and presentations show me that other people in Europe are facing the same challenges that we are. This gives me hope that others are also working on issues that need to be addressed and that together we are getting closer to a solution.

What ESOC experience will you never forget?

Presenting at ESOC is a highlight and won’t be easily forgotten, but my most favorite memory is being there at the presentation of the trials showing positive results for endovascular thrombectomy versus best medical management. Feeling everyone being overjoyed and the sense of excitement in the room was something special. Being there when results of trials that can change the way we practice stroke medicine are presented, is an amazing feeling.

References:

  1. Advani R, Naess H, Kurz MW. Lower Door to Needle Times – Is It The Pace That Kills? Curr Updates Neurol Neurosci. (2016) 1: 1.1
  2. Advani R, Naess, H, Kurz, MW (2017). The golden hour of acute ischemic stroke. Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine, 25(1), 54.
  3. Rezai MK, Dalen I, Advani R, Fjetland L, Kurz KD, Sandve KO, Kurz MW, Thrombectomy in large vessel occlusion stroke—Does age matter? Acta Neurol Scand. 2022 August doi.org/10.1111/ane.13691

ESOC is Europe’s leading forum for advances in research and clinical care of patients with cerebrovascular diseases. ESOC 2023 will live up to its expectation, and present to you a packed, high quality scientific programme including major clinical trials, state-of-the-art seminars, educational workshops, scientific communications of the latest research, and debates about current controversies. ESOC 2023 programme is now available, and registration and abstract submission are now open.  Learn more here.