Medical professionals at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) have raised concerns over the significant rise in the number of annual stroke cases recorded at the facility.
Neurologists at the hospital reveal that there has been a substantial increase, with approximately one thousand cases reported each year. This figure represents a staggering 500% surge compared to previous years, prompting concerns among the medical community.
In response to this surge, interventions are being considered, including the implementation of thrombolysis in stroke treatment at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
Thrombolysis is a medical procedure designed to dissolve abnormal blood clots that impede blood flow in veins and arteries. The objective of this intervention is to address and potentially cure strokes detected within a 24-hour timeframe.
Prof. Fred Stephen Sarfo, a neurologist at the Komfo Anokye Hospital, emphasized the urgency of the situation in an interview with Citi News, underscoring the critical need for thrombolysis in managing the escalating number of stroke cases.
Furthermore, Prof. Sarfo criticized the activities of unqualified herbalists who falsely claim to possess a cure for stroke, condemning their practices as potentially harmful and misleading to individuals seeking genuine medical assistance.
He said, “When you look at the number we have currently, in a year, we admit about 1,000 patients with stroke. If you compare the figure we have to the figure we had in the 1980s, 1980, we used to admit about 200 stroke patients a year.
“So over the 40-year period, what we are seeing is that there’s almost a 500 percent increase in the number of strokes that we admit yearly to Komfo Anokye alone and the picture is similar to most of the other health facilities we have across the country.”
-Citinewsroom
