WIST Guidelines – a chance to make a breakthrough in crisis of the treatment of stroke in Poland

Abstract

This year the new international guidelines of WIST (The World Federation for Interventional Stroke Treatment) on the physician’s training in the interventional acute stroke treatment were published. WIST multispecialty guidelines outline competency and quality standards for physicians and centers to perform safe and effective endovascular stroke treatment with mechanical thrombectomy. The role of quality control and quality assurance is highlighted. WIST establishes an individualized approach to acquiring clinical knowledge and procedural skills to meet the competency requirements for certification of interventionalists of various disciplines and stroke centers in endovascular treatment. WIST guidelines encourage acquisition of skills using innovative training methods such as structured supervised high-fidelity simulation and procedural performance on human perfused cadaveric models. In Poland in 2018 a pilot program on mechanical thrombectomy was established, however endovascular acute stroke treatment is still underused due to limited patients access to stroke centers and too small number of operators.