Mechanical thrombectomy: can it be safely delivered out of hours in the UK?

Background: Mechanical thrombectomy was approved by NICE as a treatment for stroke in 2016. However, most of the evidence is from studies conducted during working hours. Only few centres in the UK perform thrombectomies out-of-hours.

The cost of providing mechanical thrombectomy in the UK NHS: a micro-costing study.

Introduction: The clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for the treatment of large vessel occlusion stroke is well established, but uncertainty remains around the true cost of delivering this treatment within the NHS. The aim of this study was to establish the cost of providing MT within the hyperacute phase of care and to explore differences in resources used and costs across different neuroscience centres in the UK.

Method: This was a multicentre retrospective study using micro-costing methods to enable a precise assessment of the costs of MT from an NHS perspective.