Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42479897›Full record

ArticleEuropean stroke journal2026

Accessibility and use of organised stroke care and reperfusion therapies in Europe: results from the SAP-E Stroke Service Tracker 2023.

Lejla Wassvik, Christian Ovesen, Ales Tomek, Hrvoje Budincevic, Diana Aguiar de Sousa, Josefine Grundtvig, Bo Norrving, Francesca Romana Pezzella, Melinda Berg Roaldsen, Simona Sacco and 6 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European stroke journal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Lejla WassvikDepartment of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0009-0005-8602-7435
Christian OvesenDepartment of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0002-4870-4475
Ales TomekDepartment of Neurology, Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic.ORCID 0000-0002-7468-499X
Hrvoje BudincevicStroke and Intensive Care Unit, Department of Neurology, Sveti Duh University Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia.ORCID 0000-0002-0184-8949
Diana Aguiar de SousaStroke Center, Department of Neurosciences, ULS São José, Lisbon, Portugal.
Josefine GrundtvigDepartment of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Bo NorrvingDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Francesca Romana PezzellaDepartment of Neurosciences, Azienda Ospedaliera San Camillo Forlanini, Rome, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-5902-2795
Melinda Berg RoaldsenDepartment of Clinical Medicine, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
Simona SaccoDepartment of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-0651-1939
Gustavo SantoDepartment of Neurology, University Hospital of Coimbra, Unidade Local de Saúde de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
Björn Logi ThórarinssonDepartment of Neurology, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Cristina TiuDepartment of Neurology, University Hospital Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania.
Aleksandras VilionskisDepartment of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
Arlene WilkieStroke Alliance for Europe, Brussels, Belgium.
Hanne ChristensenDepartment of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0002-7472-3194

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionOrganised stroke care and reperfusion therapies are key components of modern stroke treatment. We assessed accessibility of organised stroke care and reperfusion therapies in Europe and explored its association with key organisational indicators. PATIENTS AND

methodsStroke Action Plan for Europe (SAP-E) Stroke Service Tracker data from 2023 reported by 47 European countries was assessed. Accessibility indicators included stroke unit (SU) admission proportions, intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) and EVT treatment proportions. Organisational indicators included the facility density of SU, IVT-capable centres and EVT-capable centres per capita (number of centres per 100,000 population), presence of national stroke plans and quality programmes.

resultsAcross Europe, marked variations were observed in facility density of SU (0.21-0.48), IVT-capable centres (0.19-0.45) and EVT-capable centres (0.06-0.15). SU admission proportions ranked from 0.8% to 96.7%, IVT treatment proportions from 1.3% to 34.7% and EVT treatment proportions from 0.2% to 14.3%. Stroke unit admission proportions were associated with SU density (r = 0.42, P = .03). Density of reperfusion-capable centres showed a possible trending association with IVT treatment proportions (r = 0.34, P = .08), but no association with EVT treatment proportions (r = 0.22, P = .23). Neither the presence of a national stroke plan nor a quality programme were associated with accessibility of SU care, IVT or EVT.

conclusionLarge inequities in access to organised stroke care and reperfusion therapies persist across Europe. At the country level, national stroke plans and quality programmes have not yet translated into effect on accessibility indicators, suggesting that achieving effective implementation takes time or could primarily manifest as within-country improvements.

Indexed as

Health Services AccessibilityReperfusionStrokeThrombolytic TherapyEuropeHumansendovascular treatmentESOhealthcare resourcesintravenous thrombolysisStroke Action Plan for Europe (SAP-E)Stroke Alliance for Europestroke treatmentstroke unit

Identifiers

PMID42479897
PMCPMC13387431

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.