Task Force 4 Ukraine

Ensuring continued access to stroke care in Ukraine during the conflict.

In the month of March 2022, ESO leaders learned that patients with acute stroke in countries affected by the Ukraine conflict needed assistance. Though acute stroke care was still running where hospitals were open, the supply of many medications and equipment for thrombolysis, vascular-neurosurgery, and endovascular treatment was becoming scarce, and the reduced availability of secondary prevention medications such as DOACs and Insulin was evident.

A Task Force was formed to address the needs of the stroke community through information channels and support groups.

2023 ESO statement on the war in Ukraine.

2022 ESO statement on the war in Ukraine.

University of Oslo Awards Grant to Task Force 4 Ukraine

A grant of 29,000 euros has been received by the European Stroke Organisation Task Force for Ukraine through the University of Oslo.

The project supported by the grant consists of three main streams:

assessing the impact of the war on stroke care,
launching a stroke awareness campaign for the general public,
providing educational programs for stroke neurologists and physicians.

It will involve surveys, videos disseminated through social media, simulation training, scholarships for neurologists, and supporting a master thesis. The expected results include publications on the current state of stroke care in Ukraine, an increase in treatment and better outcomes for stroke patients, and fostering stronger relationships between the Norwegian and Ukrainian Stroke Communities.

ESO Initiatives for TF4UKR

ESO is dedicated to supporting the Ukrainian stroke community and together with the Task Force has put in place the following:

Establishment of a dedicated Task Force and email address for direct support requests
Creation of Telegram groups for direct communication among members of Ukrainian stroke organisations
Coordination with WHO for joint support
Free ESO membership for Ukrainian colleagues
Free access to virtual ESOC 2022 for Ukrainian colleagues connecting from Ukraine
Circulation of surveys to assess and address urgent medical needs
Webinar series for Ukrainian colleagues addressing the specific needs of Ukrainian doctors with simultaneous Ukrainian translation

Education Seminars

A series of Education Seminars for Ukrainian physicians was created to support colleagues. Simultaneous translation in Ukranian is provided by the Angels Initiative.

The webinars in this series are available on demand through eSTEP (ESO Member benefit).
Not an ESO Member yet? Join us today!

Date

Time

Topic

Speaker

Moderator

Ukrainian
Co-moderator

16.02.2023

18.00 – 19.00

Rare causes of stroke

Anna Bersano

Italy

Bart van der Worp

Netherlands

Maryna Trischynska

Kyiv

02.03.2023

18.00 – 19.00

Neurorehabilitation of traumatic head injuries

Cecilie Røe

Norway

Francesca Romana Pezzella

Italy

Maryna Gulyayeva

Kyiv

16.03.2023

18.00 – 19.00

Acute management of lacunar infarcts

Natalia Sana Rost

USA

Else Charlotte Sandset

Norway

Yuriy Flomin

Kyiv

30.03.2023

18.00 -19.00

Bundle of care approach to ICH management

Adrian Parry-Jones

Michael Mazya

Sweden

Dmytro Lebedynets

Kyiv

27.04.2023

18.00 – 19.00

Cervical Artery Dissections

Stephanie Debette

France

Martin Dichgans

Germany

Stanislav Konotopchyk

Kyiv

11.05.2023

18.00 – 19.00

Intravenous thrombolysis and relative contraindications

Pooja Khatri

USA

Guillaume Turc

France

Pavlo Lebedynets

Kharkiv

08.06.2023

18.00 – 19.00

Acute reperfusion therapy in patients with low ASPECTS/large core

Götz Thomalla

Germany

Diana Aguiar de Sousa

Portugal

Yuriy Cherednychenko

Dnipro

22.06.2023

18.00 – 19.00

Post-stroke epilepsy

Johan Zelano

Sweden

Simona Sacco

Italy

Anatoliy Omelyanenko

Kyiv

DEPARTMENT TO DEPARTMENT – TF4UKR EDITION

This year, the ESO Task Force for Ukraine has developed a special edition of the Department to Department programme for Ukrainian physicians.

The ESO Ukraine Department to Department Visit Programme is a grant of €1,500 offered to up to 10 Ukrainian physicians and researchers to support a short visit of 1-2 weeks, or as a contribution to a longer visit to a European Stroke Unit.

The programme provides support to young Ukrainian physicians and researchers for visiting stroke departments outside of Ukraine. These experiences can play an important role in their careers by establishing contact with people and departments who may provide future research and job opportunities.

Primary aim is to improve stroke care in Ukraine by increasing knowledge in the stroke treatment chain. The observer will acquire knowledge on stroke care ranging from prehospital to rehabilitation, including the importance of building multidisciplinary teams. Secondary aim is to promote “stroke mentors” from the hosting institution.

Awardees are expected to send a report after completion of their visit to be posted on the ESO blog and newsletter, and to acknowledge ESO in scientific work that results from the stay.

The application period is now open for 2023 visits.
Deadline: 2 December 2022

Who should apply?

Ukrainian physicians or researchers with an interest in the field of stroke.
Applicants must be ESO members, however, ESO membership is free for Ukrainian colleagues. The application is available here.

How to apply?

Interested applicants are requested to complete and submit the following documents all together:

ESO D2D Application Form – TF4UKR Edition
Invitation letter from Head of the Department/Institution where you want to visit (Host Institution)
Letter of recommendation from the supervisor or head of your department
Personal letter of motivation (1/2 page)
CV in English (1-2 pages)
Copy of national identity card/passport

If you require assistance to establish contact with an institution, please contact Prof. Else Charlotte Sandset by email at else@sandset.net.

Applications must be submitted to the ESO Secretariat by email to esoinfo@eso-stroke.org by 2 December 2022.

For any questions, please write to esoinfo@eso-stroke.org

Department to Department – TF4UKR Edition

The ESO Task Force for Ukraine developed a special edition of the Department to Department programme for Ukrainian physicians.

The ESO Ukraine Department to Department Visit Programme offers a grant of €1,500 to 10 Ukrainian physicians and researchers to support a short visit of 1-2 weeks, or as a contribution to a longer visit to a European Stroke Unit.

Awardees are expected to send a report after completion of their visit to be posted on the ESO blog and newsletter, and to acknowledge ESO in scientific work that results from the stay.

ESO warmly congratulates the 2023 awardees:

Solomiia Bandrivska — visiting UCL Queen Square (UK) | 16-29 January 2023 | Read Report
Olha Biletska — visiting Oslo University Hospital (Norway) | 18-29 September 2023
Nataliia Chemer — visiting University Hospital Bern (Switzerland) | February 2023 | Read Report
Yuriy Flomin — visiting Oslo University Hospital (Norway) | 28 May – 3 June 2023
Dmytro Hrynykha — visiting Hospital Vall d’Hebron (Spain) | 18-29 September 2023
Yuliia Kit — visiting Karolinska University Hospital (Sweden) | 10-16 July 2023
Ruslan Salnikov — visiting University Hospital Basel (Switzerland) | August 2023
Yevhen Shepotinnyk — visiting Vilnius University Faculty of Medicine (Lithuania) | 3-18 March 2023
Yuliia Vlasiichik — visiting Royal Stroke University Hospital (UK) | 23 February – 5 March 2023 | Read Report
Ruslana-Mariana Yunko — visiting University Hospital Basel (Switzerland) | 21 June – 2 July 2023

TF4UKR Department to Department Visit Reports

Yuliia Kit

Royal Stroke University Hospital (Stoke on Trent, UK)

“It has been a pleasure to be part of the stroke team that admits the patient in the emergency department and completes the patient’s route in the hospital. For several days I worked with a doctor on call, so I saw various cases of hospitalizations, most of them with previous thrombolytic therapy in another hospital, so our goal was to refer the patient for thrombectomy.

Thanks to the interventional radiologists, I was able to be present and even assist during the thrombectomy. 12 minutes from the puncture to the opening of the vessel is an amazing result.”

Read the full report

Nataliia Chemer

Visit to University Hospital Bern (Switzerland)

“My favorite part of the day was working in the ultrasound laboratory (neurosonography). Each patient, outpatient and inpatient, has a detailed examination, which is compared with the previous period and discussed as a unique case. In parallel, research programs are being carried out – a huge amount of work that is being done by the laboratory specialists.

The Stroke Center under the direction of Prof. Marcel Arnold, serving a population of around 2 million, is the unique place for diverse education, diagnosis and treatment of stroke. In my practice it was the best opportunity for knowledge acquisition and clinical experience that I was able to take full advantage of.”

Read the full report

Solomiia Bandrivska

Visit to UCL Queen Square London (UK)

“I met Professor David Werring on his outpatient clinics at the UCLH, where I had a unique chance of observing how the leading stroke specialist runs his clinic. I saw many of the most complicated and rare neurological cases there. One of the two weeks was entirely devoted to the on-call shifts with the professor, that helped me to fully immerse myself in the work of the stroke unit.

Professor Werring helped me to get an understanding of the essential clinical approaches, differential diagnosis and the treatment modalities. His expert opinion and guidance helped me to learn many diagnostic and differential diagnostic pearls. The visit was an exceptional experience in the leading world hospital for neurology and stroke in particular. This way I step up my knowledge, got unique experience to make further improvement back at home. This is my plan.”

Read the full report

Task Force

Francesca Romana Pezzella (Chair)
Yuriy Flomin (Co-Chair)
Valeria Caso
Hanne Christensen
Robert Mikulik
Else Sandset
Dmytro Lebedynets
Marina Gulyayeva

Observers

Pavlo Lebedynets
Mykhailo Tonchev
Dmitriy Gulyayev

Contact

Please contact the Task Force at the address below if you have a request or can provide assistance.

ukrainesupport@eso-stroke.org