Quantifying candidate volume for endovascular therapy for acute ischemic stroke: a retrospective chart review.

Background: Endovascular therapy is the new standard of care for certain patients with acute ischemic stroke. We aimed to determine whether procedural volumes at an academic health sciences centre in northeastern Ontario exceeded the minimum of 20 procedures annually to support establishment of an endovascular therapy centre and thus improve regional access to this type of care.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review at Health Sciences North, a regional stroke centre for northeastern Ontario that currently does not offer endovascular therapy for patients with acute ischemic stroke.