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Virtual Stroke Units Versus Conventional Stroke Unit Care in Non-Thrombectomy-Candidate Patients. (VSU)

16 juin 2026 mis à jour par: Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena

Virtual Stroke Units Versus Conventional Stroke Unit Care in Non-Thrombectomy-Candidate Patients: A Non-Inferiority Prospective Cohort Study

Stroke is the leading cause of acquired disability in adults and a major cause of mortality worldwide; in Spain, Andalusia shows the highest stroke-related mortality rate. Comprehensive Stroke Units (SU) are the gold-standard organizational model for acute stroke care; however, only a fraction of patients have direct access to an SU, particularly those not eligible for mechanical thrombectomy who are admitted to regional or district hospitals without on-site SU capacity.

The Virtual Stroke Unit (VSU) concept extends specialized stroke care to non-SU hospitals by combining standardized in-hospital monitoring boxes with synchronous remote multidisciplinary assessment by a stroke neurologist and stroke nurse from a reference center, via the regional telemedicine platform (CATI).

This prospective, multicenter, non-inferiority cohort study compares effectiveness, safety, and feasibility of VSU care versus conventional SU care in patients with acute ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke who are not candidates for mechanical thrombectomy. Recruitment targets 363 patients per arm (726 total). The primary outcome is death or dependency at 3 months (modified Rankin Scale 3-6) - the canonical measure of stroke-unit effectiveness - with functional independence (mRS 0-2), adherence to the stroke-unit care quality bundle, safety, mortality, recurrence, length of stay, satisfaction (TUQ/TSQ/TMPQ) and cost-effectiveness as secondary outcomes.

Aperçu de l'étude

Statut

Recrutement

Les conditions

Intervention / Traitement

Description détaillée

Background. Stroke Units reduce mortality and dependence in acute stroke patients regardless of stroke subtype, severity, age or sex. However, in Andalusia, only a small proportion of acute stroke patients are admitted to an SU; many patients who are not candidates for mechanical thrombectomy remain hospitalized in non-SU wards of regional hospitals, with limited access to structured stroke-specific multidisciplinary care.

Rationale. Telemedicine-supported organizational models have shown promise to bridge the access gap for time-sensitive stroke care. The Virtual Stroke Unit (VSU) is a novel organizational model that combines (i) standardized monitoring boxes in non-SU hospitals with predefined nursing protocols, (ii) a daily synchronous joint visit between the local team and the reference SU team via the CATI telemedicine platform, and (iii) structured remote follow-up and discharge planning. The VSU model has not been formally evaluated in a comparative prospective study.

Objectives. Primary: to test whether VSU care is non-inferior to conventional SU care for 3-month functional outcome (mRS) in patients with acute stroke not eligible for mechanical thrombectomy. Secondary: to evaluate safety (in-hospital complications, mortality), efficiency (length of stay, inter-hospital transfers), patient and provider satisfaction (TUQ/TSQ/TMPQ), 1-year functional outcome and recurrence, and cost-effectiveness.

Design. Prospective multicenter cohort study with two parallel groups:

  • VSU group: consecutive eligible patients admitted to Hospital de Riotinto (Huelva) or Hospital San Juan de Dios del Aljarafe (Bormujos), receiving structured remote care from the CATI/Virgen Macarena stroke team.
  • Conventional SU group (control): consecutive eligible patients admitted to the Stroke Unit of Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena (Sevilla), without telemedicine support.

Sample size. 363 patients per group (726 total) to detect non-inferiority of VSU vs SU on the primary outcome, with a non-inferiority margin of 10%, 80% power, two-sided α = 5%, and an estimated 15% loss to follow-up.

Type d'étude

Observationnel

Inscription (Estimé)

726

Phase

  • N'est pas applicable

Contacts et emplacements

Cette section fournit les coordonnées de ceux qui mènent l'étude et des informations sur le lieu où cette étude est menée.

Lieux d'étude

Critères de participation

Les chercheurs recherchent des personnes qui correspondent à une certaine description, appelée critères d'éligibilité. Certains exemples de ces critères sont l'état de santé général d'une personne ou des traitements antérieurs.

Critère d'éligibilité

Âges éligibles pour étudier

  • Adulte
  • Adulte plus âgé

Accepte les volontaires sains

Non

Méthode d'échantillonnage

Échantillon de probabilité

Population étudiée

Patients with acute stroke (ischemic or hemorrhagic) not eligible for mechanical thrombectomy

La description

Inclusion Criteria

  • Age ≥ 18 years.
  • Diagnosis of acute stroke (ischemic or hemorrhagic) confirmed by clinical assessment and neuroimaging (CT and/or MRI) within 24 hours of symptom onset or last-seen-well.
  • Not a candidate for mechanical thrombectomy according to current clinical guidelines.
  • Admission to a participating hospital (Hospital de Riotinto, Hospital San Juan de Dios del Aljarafe, or Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena).
  • Signed informed consent by the participant or legal representative. Exclusion Criteria
  • Pre-stroke modified Rankin Scale (mRS) ≥ 4.
  • Life expectancy < 6 months due to non-stroke comorbid conditions.
  • Inability to complete protocolized follow-up (geographical, social, or clinical reasons).
  • Concurrent participation in another interventional clinical trial that may affect study endpoints.
  • Refusal to provide informed consent.

Plan d'étude

Cette section fournit des détails sur le plan d'étude, y compris la façon dont l'étude est conçue et ce que l'étude mesure.

Comment l'étude est-elle conçue ?

Détails de conception

Cohortes et interventions

Groupe / Cohorte
Intervention / Traitement
Group 1 - Virtual Stroke Unit (VSU)
Patients with acute stroke (ischemic or hemorrhagic) not eligible for mechanical thrombectomy, admitted consecutively to Hospital de Riotinto (Huelva) or Hospital San Juan de Dios del Aljarafe (Bormujos, Sevilla). Care is delivered in standardized monitoring boxes following an SU-equivalent nursing protocol, with daily synchronous joint assessment by the reference stroke team (Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena) via the CATI telemedicine platform.
Autre: (Healthcare organizational model)
Structured multidisciplinary stroke care delivered remotely from the reference Stroke Unit (Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena) to non-SU hospitals (Hospital de Riotinto, Hospital San Juan de Dios del Aljarafe). Components: (i) standardized stroke monitoring boxes with predefined nursing protocols; (ii) synchronous joint assessment between local team and reference stroke neurologist/nurse via CATI videoconferencing on day 1 of admission; (iii) structured remote follow-up during hospitalization; (iv) standardized teleconsultation discharge report; (v) protocolized scheduled remote re-assessment at 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 12 months.
Group 2 - Conventional Stroke Unit (Control)
Patients with acute stroke (ischemic or hemorrhagic) not eligible for mechanical thrombectomy, admitted consecutively to the Stroke Unit of Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena (Sevilla). Care is delivered in person by the local SU multidisciplinary team without telemedicine support.
Autre: Conventional care
Bundle of conventional stroke unit care

Que mesure l'étude ?

Principaux critères de jugement

Mesure des résultats
Description de la mesure
Délai
Death or dependency at 90 days (modified Rankin Scale 3-6)
Délai: 90 days from index admission
Proportion of participants who are dead or functionally dependent (mRS 3-6) at 90 ± 15 days post-admission. The mRS is a 7-level clinician-rated scale (0 = no symptoms; 6 = death); the 3-6 range is the canonical measure of stroke-unit effectiveness (avoidance of death or dependency). Non-inferiority of VSU versus conventional SU care is declared if the upper limit of the one-sided 95% confidence interval for the between-group difference does not exceed the pre-specified +10 percentage-point margin.
90 days from index admission

Mesures de résultats secondaires

Mesure des résultats
Description de la mesure
Délai
Adherence to the stroke-unit care quality bundle
Délai: Index admission
Proportion of participants receiving a predefined stroke-unit care bundle during the index admission, equivalent to conventional SU standards: dysphagia screening before oral intake, early mobilization, neurological/vital-sign monitoring protocol, antithrombotic therapy within 48 h when indicated, and structured multidisciplinary assessment. Measures whether VSU care reproduces the quality of conventional stroke-unit care.
Index admission
In-hospital complications (composite safety endpoint)
Délai: Index admission (median 7-10 days)
Composite of in-hospital medical complications: symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, early neurological worsening (NIHSS ≥ 4 points), aspiration pneumonia, deep vein thrombosis, urinary tract infection, in-hospital death.
Index admission (median 7-10 days)
Etiological classification (TOAST)
Délai: 3 months
Distribution of TOAST etiological categories in ischemic strokes (large-artery atherosclerosis, cardioembolic, small-vessel, other determined, undetermined).
3 months
Adherence to secondary prevention
Délai: 3 and 12 months
Proportion of participants on guideline-concordant secondary prevention (antithrombotic therapy, antihypertensives, statins, anticoagulation if indicated) at 3 and 12 months.
3 and 12 months
Length of hospital stay
Délai: Index admission
Length of index admission in days, from admission to discharge
Index admission

Collaborateurs et enquêteurs

C'est ici que vous trouverez les personnes et les organisations impliquées dans cette étude.

Parrainer

Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena

Publications et liens utiles

La personne responsable de la saisie des informations sur l'étude fournit volontairement ces publications. Il peut s'agir de tout ce qui concerne l'étude.

Publications générales

Dates d'enregistrement des études

Ces dates suivent la progression des dossiers d'étude et des soumissions de résultats sommaires à ClinicalTrials.gov. Les dossiers d'étude et les résultats rapportés sont examinés par la Bibliothèque nationale de médecine (NLM) pour s'assurer qu'ils répondent à des normes de contrôle de qualité spécifiques avant d'être publiés sur le site Web public.

Dates principales de l'étude

Début de l'étude (Réel)

1 avril 2026

Achèvement primaire (Estimé)

31 mars 2027

Achèvement de l'étude (Estimé)

31 mars 2028

Dates d'inscription aux études

Première soumission

3 juin 2026

Première soumission répondant aux critères de contrôle qualité

3 juin 2026

Première publication (Réel)

9 juin 2026

Mises à jour des dossiers d'étude

Dernière mise à jour publiée (Réel)

18 juin 2026

Dernière mise à jour soumise répondant aux critères de contrôle qualité

16 juin 2026

Dernière vérification

1 mai 2026

Plus d'information

Termes liés à cette étude

Mots clés

Termes MeSH pertinents supplémentaires

Autres numéros d'identification d'étude

  • PI24/01807

Plan pour les données individuelles des participants (IPD)

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INDÉCIS

Description du régime IPD

Sharing of individual participant data (IPD) is not currently planned. Aggregated study results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and scientific congresses. Requests for de-identified IPD may be considered on a case-by-case basis subject to data protection regulations (GDPR), ethical approval and a formal data-sharing agreement.

Informations sur les médicaments et les dispositifs, documents d'étude

Étudie un produit pharmaceutique réglementé par la FDA américaine

Non

Étudie un produit d'appareil réglementé par la FDA américaine

Non

Ces informations ont été extraites directement du site Web clinicaltrials.gov sans aucune modification. Si vous avez des demandes de modification, de suppression ou de mise à jour des détails de votre étude, veuillez contacter register@clinicaltrials.gov. Dès qu'un changement est mis en œuvre sur clinicaltrials.gov, il sera également mis à jour automatiquement sur notre site Web .

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