Abstract 134: Endovascular Revascularization Is Associated With Better Outcomes Than Systemic Throbmolysis Alone For Tandem Internal Carotid And Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion
Background and Purpose: Tandem Internal Carotid Artery and Middle Cerebral Artery or “TIM” occlusions are highly resistant to conventional therapy (systemic thrombolysis) and independently predicts poor patient outcome. Recent evidence suggests that patients treated more aggressively with either endovascular stenting of occluded carotid arteries and/or intra-arterial tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) may have superior outcomes. Here we evaluate all the available data to help assess the best intervention for this patient population that currently has limited treatment options. Methods: Data from Medline and the Cochrane database of systemic reviews was searched. The search terms used includes (tandem OR combined) AND (middle cerebral OR internal carotid) AND (OCCLU* or lesion or stenos* or blocka*). All studies had to be in English. All duplicates were identified and removed. To be included the studies needed to report on three key aspects: 1) baseline characteristics (age; NIHSS at presentation); 2) treatment (time to treatment; modality); and 3) outcome (report of patient state at discharge or follow up on the Modified Rankin Scale). Patients were grouped according to whether they received endovascular intervention or stand alone IV tPA. Patients were considered independent if they had a Modified Rankin Scale score of ≤ 2 at follow up or discharge. Results: Over 2,500 studies were evaluated. Seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria, with a total of 219 patients. Patients treated with endovascular therapy (n=60) (stenting and/or intra-arterial tPA) were 32% more likely to be independent (p<0.0001) and 28% less likely to have a significant disability (p= 0.0004) compared to patients given systemic thrombolysis (n=139). There was no significant difference in mortality or complication rates between the groups. Conclusion: Endovascular therapy appears to be superior compared with systemic thrombolysis in treating patients with TIM occlusions. The risk of iatrogenic complications with more aggressive intervention does not appear to outweigh the outcome benefit. Further and larger studies are needed to assess the benefits and risks of endovascular therapy in patients with TIM lesions.