After almost 3 months of suspension, recruitment of participants into the PRESTIGE-AF Study is resuming. In Germany and Spain there are seven and three sites open respectively, with many new sites due to open over the next few weeks. Italy, Austria and France have been given permission to start recruitment into the study for the first time and sites will begin to open from 1st July. Participant recruitment is still paused in the UK but is expected to resume in the next two months.
It goes without saying that PRESTIGE-AF investigators are proceeding with utmost caution and are regularly reassessing and evaluating for the health and safety of their patients. That being said, this is great news for the consortium, the research and the PRESTIGE-AF project as a whole. Now, work can resume to fulfil the aims of the project; a randomised controlled trial to gather evidence around recommended anticoagulation medication for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation. With stroke being one of the largest public health challenges around the world albeit a growing challenge with increased ageing population estimates, the PRESTIGE-AF work is crucial to help stroke prevention and bettering the treatment and care for brain stroke survivors with atrial fibrillation.
The consortium hope to see a flurry of participant recruitment activity and it has kicked-off to a good start. In Essen, Germany, the first participant was recruited soon after the Study resumed.
It feels as if the world has been in a state of dormancy and COVID-19 has and will continue to impact our lives, professionally and personally. However, with the Study resuming we are slowly coming out of a surreal reality and the team feel uplifted and charged to continue their work on PRESTIGE-AF.
Article photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
