Converting a high-volume primary stroke center (PSC) into a stroke center that can perform emergency endovascular treatment (EVT) could reduce the time to thrombectomy. We report the first results of a newly established EVT facility at the Perpignan PSC and their comparison with the targets defined by the established guidelines.

For this comprehensive observational study, data of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) due to proximal large vessel occlusion (LVO) and treated by EVT at the Perpignan PSC from December 5, 2019 to September 15, 2020 were extracted from an ongoing prospective database.

During the study period, 37 patients underwent EVT at the Perpignan PSC. The median (range) symptom-onset to recanalization time was 262min (100–485min). The median (range) intra-hospital times were: 20min (2–58min) for door-to-imaging, 57min (30–155min) for imaging-to-puncture, 55min (15–180min) for puncture-to-recanalization, and 137min (59–319min) for door-to-recanalization. At 3 months post-AIS, the favorable outcome (modified Ranking Score: 0–2) rate was 50% and the mortality rate was 19.4%. These results are comparable to those of previous clinical trials, and meet the targets defined by the current consensus statements for EVT.

Our results show the feasibility and safety of EVT in a PSC for patients with AIS due to LVO. The implementation of this strategy may be important for shortening the time to thrombectomy.