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Headlines 9 Dr Douglas Campbell The MASTERSTROKE trial Dr Douglas Campbell is a specialist anaesthetist at Auckland City Hospital. He has a clinical research interest in anaesthesia for ischaemic stroke. In 2019, Dr Campbell and his teamwere awarded a project grant from the Neurological Foundation for the MASTERSTROKE trial to investigate blood pressure management during clot retrieval procedures (endovascular thrombectomy). This international trial is recruiting patients in New Zealand, Australia, and the Netherlands. A thrombectomy is an emergency clot retrieval procedure performed in ischaemic stroke patients. It can save lives and prevent disability in patients who get to a hospital in time. In New Zealand, 90% of clot retrieval procedures are performed under general anaesthesia. However, many anaesthetic drugs can affect blood pressure and blood flow within the brain. Increasing blood pressure during the procedure could improve recovery from this devastating disease. This trial aims to see if increasing blood pressure during general anaesthesia for clot retrieval procedures reduces the amount of disability shown at three months. The intervention is simple, cheap, and could be implemented immediately if effective. The results could also guide future trials on physiological management in acute stroke. The balance between improving blood flow to the area of stroke or causing complications like bleeding in the damaged brain is not known. This trial will also provide reliable guidance for clinicians. In 2020, Dr Campbell was awarded a Neurological Foundation Senior Clinical Research Fellowship to support him in developing his career as a clinician-researcher. Like many other projects, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted this research, causing significant delays to patient recruitment, site initiation and funding applications. Despite this, the project is progressing well and is on track to be completed in two years. All three sites that perform clot retrieval are involved in the trial (Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington) with a network of researchers involved in this exciting study to improve outcomes for stroke patients. Dr Fiona McBryde Optimising anaesthesia for clot retrieval in ischemic stroke Dr Fiona McBryde is a Cardiovascular Physiologist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland. While the MASTERSTROKE trial is concerned with blood pressure during anaesthesia, Dr McBryde is interested in which type of anaesthesia best protects blood flow to the brain during a thrombectomy (clot retrieval). In 2020, Dr McBryde and her team were awarded a small project grant to investigate this further. The grant funded the purchase of a Transonic flowmeter, a specialised piece of medical equipment that directly records cerebral blood flow in preclinical models of ischemic stroke. The flowmeter has been a significant asset to the lab and has enabled these crucial studies to progress. This equipment has also contributed to the completion of several animal studies, where the availability of flowmeters had been a constraint. at any sign of stroke CALL 111 Dr Douglas Campbell (second from right) with colleagues from the Stroke Unit at Auckland Hospital The F.A.S.T. campaign encourages everyone to learn the key signs of stroke and to think F.A.S.T., act fast and call 111 if you suspect a stroke. "...Dr McBryde is interested inwhich type of anaesthesia best protects blood flow to the brain during a thrombectomy (clot retrieval). "