Abstract 349: Optimizing Mechanical Thrombectomy: The Impact of Cath Lab Staff Turnover on Stroke Thrombectomy Times

Cath lab staff turnover increased dramatically after the COVID pandemic making it difficult to retain neurology trained cath lab techs. We investigated the impact this had on local stroke quality metrics. This is a retrospective study of a prospectively maintained thrombectomy patient database at a single comprehensive stroke center from December 2021 through October 2023. Baseline demographics and clinical characteristics were collected and not significantly different between groups. The primary outcome of interest was median time from femoral artery access to first pass. We observed a faster median time from access to first pass when working with neurology trained cath lab techs (10 minutes IQR 7‐15) compared to non‐neurology trained cath lab techs (15 minutes IQR 10‐24), p = 0.004. We also observed a faster median time from cath lab arrival to access (22 IQR 16‐27 versus 27 IQR 20‐34, p=0.012). There was a greater likelihood of access to first pass time <10 minutes with neurology trained techs (47% versus 25%, p=0.009, OR 2.5). Overall, thrombectomy occurred a median of 10 minutes faster when working with neurology trained cath lab techs. How much would we pay for a catheter that could do that? Our data suggests investing in the training and retention of cath lab staff improves stroke care.