scholarly journals Number of Retrieval Attempts Rather Than Procedure Time Is Associated With Risk of Symptomatic Intracranial Hemorrhage

Stroke ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 1580-1588
Author(s):  
Máté Elöd Maros ◽  
Caspar Brekenfeld ◽  
Gabriel Broocks ◽  
Hannes Leischner ◽  
Rosalie McDonough ◽  
...  

Background and Purpose: Endovascular therapy is the standard of care in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke due to large-vessel occlusion. A direct association between the number of device passes and the occurrence of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (SICH) has been suggested. This study represents an in-depth investigation of the hypothesis that >3 retrieval attempts is associated with an increased rate of SICH in a large multicenter patient cohort. Methods: Two thousand six hundred eleven patients from the prospective German Stroke Registry were analyzed. Patients who received Endovascular therapy for acute large-vessel occlusion of the anterior circulation with known admission National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale and Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score, final Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction, and number of retrieval passes were included. The primary outcome was defined as SICH. The secondary outcome was any type of radiologically confirmed intracranial hemorrhage within the first 24 hours. Multivariate mixed-effects models were used to adjust for cluster effects of the participating centers, as well as for confounders. Results: Five hundred ninety-three patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The median number of retrieval passes was 2 [interquartile range, 1–3]. SICH occurred in 26 cases (4.4%), whereas intracranial hemorrhage was identified by neuroimaging in 85 (14.3%) cases. More than 3 retrieval passes was the strongest predictor for SICH (odds ratio, 3.61 [95% CI, 1.38–9.42], P =0.0089) following adjustment for age, admission National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, admission Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score, and Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction, as well as time from symptom onset to flow restoration. Baseline Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score of 8 to 9 (odds ratio, 0.26 [95% CI, 0.07–0.89], P =0.032) or 10 (odds ratio, 0.21 [95% CI, 0.06–0.78], P =0.020) were significant protective factors against the occurrence of SICH. Conclusions: More than 3 retrieval attempts is associated with a significant increase in SICH risk, regardless of patient age, baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, or procedure time. This should be considered when deciding whether to continue a procedure, especially in patients with large baseline infarctions. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT03356392.

Stroke ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-39
Author(s):  
Federico Cagnazzo ◽  
Michel Piotin ◽  
Simon Escalard ◽  
Benjamin Maier ◽  
Marc Ribo ◽  
...  

Background and Purpose: Acute ischemic stroke and large vessel occlusion can be concurrent with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Outcomes after mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for large vessel occlusion in patients with COVID-19 are substantially unknown. Our aim was to study early outcomes after MT in patients with COVID-19. Methods: Multicenter, European, cohort study involving 34 stroke centers in France, Italy, Spain, and Belgium. Data were collected between March 1, 2020 and May 5, 2020. Consecutive laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases with large vessel occlusion, who were treated with MT, were included. Primary investigated outcome: 30-day mortality. Secondary outcomes: early neurological improvement (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale improvement ≥8 points or 24 hours National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale 0–1), successful reperfusion (modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction grade ≥2b), and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage. Results: We evaluated 93 patients with COVID-19 with large vessel occlusion who underwent MT (median age, 71 years [interquartile range, 59–79]; 63 men [67.7%]). Median pretreatment National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale and Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score were 17 (interquartile range, 11–21) and 8 (interquartile range, 7–9), respectively. Anterior circulation acute ischemic stroke represented 93.5% of cases. The rate modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction 2b to 3 was 79.6% (74 patients [95% CI, 71.3–87.8]). Thirty-day mortality was 29% (27 patients [95% CI, 20–39.4]). Early neurological improvement was 19.5% (17 patients [95% CI, 11.8–29.5]), and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was 5.4% (5 patients [95% CI, 1.7–12.1]). Patients who died at 30 days exhibited significantly lower lymphocyte count, higher levels of aspartate, and LDH (lactate dehydrogenase). After adjustment for age, initial National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score, and successful reperfusion, these biological markers remained associated with increased odds of 30-day mortality (adjusted odds ratio of 2.70 [95% CI, 1.21–5.98] per SD-log decrease in lymphocyte count, 2.66 [95% CI, 1.22–5.77] per SD-log increase in aspartate, and 4.30 [95% CI, 1.43–12.91] per SD-log increase in LDH). Conclusions: The 29% rate of 30-day mortality after MT among patients with COVID-19 is not negligible. Abnormalities of lymphocyte count, LDH and aspartate may depict a patient’s profiles with poorer outcomes after MT. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT04406090.


Stroke ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xu Tong ◽  
Yilong Wang ◽  
Jens Fiehler ◽  
Clayton T. Bauer ◽  
Baixue Jia ◽  
...  

Background and Purpose: A recent randomized controlled trial DIRECT-MT (Direct Intra-Arterial Thrombectomy to Revascularize AIS Patients With Large Vessel Occlusion Efficiently in Chinese Tertiary Hospitals) compared the safety and efficacy of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) versus combined intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) and MT for acute large vessel occlusion. The current study utilized a prospective, nationwide registry to validate the results of the DIRECT-MT trial in a real-world practice setting. Methods: Subjects were selected from a prospective cohort of acute large vessel occlusion patients undergoing endovascular treatment at 111 hospitals from 26 provinces in China (ANGEL-ACT registry [Endovascular Treatment Key Technique and Emergency Work Flow Improvement of Acute Ischemic Stroke]) between November 2017 and March 2019. All patients eligible for IVT and receiving MT were reviewed and then grouped according to whether prior IVT or not (MT and combined IVT+MT). After a 1:1 propensity score matching, the outcome measures including the 90-day modified Rankin Scale, successful recanalization, door-to-puncture time, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, and intraprocedural embolization were compared. Results: A total of 1026 patients, 600 in the MT group and 426 in the combined group, were included. Among 788 patients identified after matching, there were no significant differences in the 90-day modified Rankin Scale (median, 3 versus 3 points; P =0.82) and successful recanalization (86.6% versus 89.3%; P =0.23) between the two groups; however, patients of the MT group had a shorter door-to-puncture time (median, 112 versus 136 minutes; β=−45.02 [95% CI, −68.31 to −21.74]), lower rates of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (5.5% versus 10.1%; odds ratio, 0.52 [95% CI, 0.30–0.91]), and embolization (4.6% versus 8.1%; odds ratio, 0.54 [95% CI, 0.30–0.98]) than those of the combined group. Conclusions: This matched-control study largely confirmed the findings of the DIRECT-MT trial in a real-world practice setting, suggesting that MT may carry similar effectiveness to combined IVT+MT for acute large vessel occlusion patients, despite MT alone seems to be associated with a shorter in-hospital delay until procedure, lower risks of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, and embolization. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT03370939.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 1217-1220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tareq Kass-Hout ◽  
Omar Kass-Hout ◽  
Chung-Huan Johnny Sun ◽  
Taha A Kass-Hout ◽  
Raul Nogueira ◽  
...  

BackgroundTime to reperfusion is an essential factor in determination of outcomes in acute ischemic stroke (AIS).ObjectiveTo establish the effect of the procedural time on the clinical outcomes of patients with AIS.MethodsData from all consecutive patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy between September 2010 and July 2012 were analysed retrospectively. The variable of interest was procedural time (defined as time from groin puncture to final recanalization time). Outcome measures included the rates of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH, defined as any parenchymal hematoma—eg, PH-1/PH-2), final infarct volume, 90-day mortality, and independent functional outcomes (modified Rankin Scale 0–2) at 90 days.ResultsThe cohort included 242 patients with a mean age of 65.5±14.2 and median baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score 20. 51% of the patients were female. The mean procedure time was significantly shorter in patients with a good outcome (86.7 vs 73.1 min, respectively, p=0.0228). Patients with SICH had significantly higher mean procedure time than patients without SICH (79.67 vs 104.5 min, respectively; p=0.0319), which remained significant when controlling for the previous factors (OR=0.974, 95% CI 0.957 to 0.991). No correlation was found between the volume of infarction and the procedure time (r=0.10996, p=0.0984). No association was seen between procedure time and 90-day mortality (77.8 vs 88.2 min in survivals vs deaths, respectively; p=0.0958).ConclusionsOur data support an association between the risk of SICH and a longer procedure time, but no association between procedural times and the final infarction volume or long-term functional outcomes was found.


Stroke ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 1192-1202
Author(s):  
Vanessa H.E. Chen ◽  
Grace K.H. Lee ◽  
Choon-Han Tan ◽  
Aloysius S.T. Leow ◽  
Ying-Kiat Tan ◽  
...  

Background and Purpose: In patients with acute ischemic stroke with large vessel occlusion, the role of intra-arterial adjunctive medications (IAMs), such as urokinase, tPA (tissue-type plasminogen activator), or glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors, during mechanical thrombectomy (MT) has not been clearly established. We aim to evaluate the efficacy and safety of concomitant or rescue IAM for acute ischemic stroke with large vessel occlusion patients undergoing MT. Methods: We searched Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register databases from inception until March 13, 2020. We analyzed all studies with patients diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke with large vessel occlusion in the anterior or posterior circulation that provided data for the two treatment arms, (1) MT+IAM and (2) MT only, and also reported on at least one of the following efficacy outcomes, recanalization and 90-day modified Rankin Scale, or safety outcomes, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage and 90-day mortality. Data were collated in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Results: Sixteen nonrandomized observational studies with a total of 4581 patients were analyzed. MT only was performed in 3233 (70.6%) patients, while 1348 (29.4%) patients were treated with both MT and IAM. As compared with patients treated with MT alone, patients treated with combination therapy (MT+IAM) had a higher likelihood of achieving good functional outcome (risk ratio, 1.13 [95% CI, 1.03–1.24]) and a lower risk of 90-day mortality (risk ratio, 0.82 [95% CI, 0.72–0.94]). There was no significant difference in successful recanalization (risk ratio, 1.02 [95% CI, 0.99–1.06]) and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage between the two groups (risk ratio, 1.13 [95% CI, 0.87–1.46]). Conclusions: In acute ischemic stroke with large vessel occlusion, the use of IAM together with MT may achieve better functional outcomes and lower mortality rates. Randomized controlled trials are warranted to establish the safety and efficacy of IAM as adjunctive treatment to MT.


Stroke ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyohei Fujita ◽  
Kanta Tanaka ◽  
Hiroshi Yamagami ◽  
Takeshi Yoshimoto ◽  
Kazutaka Uchida ◽  
...  

Background and Purpose: Outcomes in patients ≥90 years of age with stroke due to large vessel occlusion were compared between endovascular therapy (EVT) and medical management. Methods: Of 2420 acute ischemic stroke patients with large vessel occlusion in a prospective, multicenter, nationwide registry in Japan, patients aged ≥90 years with occlusion of the internal carotid artery or M1 segment of the middle cerebral artery were included. The primary effectiveness outcome was a favorable outcome at 3 months, defined as achieving a modified Rankin Scale score of 0 to 2 or return to at least the prestroke modified Rankin Scale score at 3 months. Safety outcomes included symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage within 72 hours after onset. Intergroup biases were adjusted by multivariable adjustment with inverse probability of treatment weighting. Results: A total of 150 patients (median age, 92 [interquartile range, 90–94] years; median prestroke modified Rankin Scale score, 2 [interquartile range, 0–4]) were analyzed. EVT was performed in 49 patients (32.7%; mechanical thrombectomy, n=43). The EVT group showed shorter time from onset to hospital arrival ( P =0.03), higher Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score ( P <0.01), and a higher rate of treatment with intravenous thrombolysis ( P <0.01) than the medical management group. The favorable outcome was seen in 28.6% of the EVT group and 6.9% of the medical management group ( P <0.01). EVT was associated with the favorable outcome (adjusted odds ratio, 8.44 [95% CI, 1.88–37.97]). Rates of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage were similar between the EVT group (0.0%) and the medical management group (3.9%; P =0.30). Conclusions: Patients who underwent EVT showed better functional outcomes than those with medical management without increased symptomatic intracranial hemorrhages. Given proper patient selection, withholding EVT solely on the basis of the age of patients may not offer the best chance of good outcome. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT02419794.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 324-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dylan N Wolman ◽  
David G Marcellus ◽  
Maarten G Lansberg ◽  
Gregory Albers ◽  
Adrien Guenego ◽  
...  

Background Acute ischemic stroke patients with a large-vessel occlusion but mild symptoms (NIHSS ≤ 6) pose a treatment dilemma between medical management and endovascular thrombectomy. Aims To evaluate the differences in clinical outcomes of endovascular thrombectomy-eligible patients with target-mismatch perfusion profiles who undergo either medical management or endovascular thrombectomy. Methods Forty-seven patients with acute ischemic stroke due to large-vessel occlusion, NIHSS ≤ 6, and a target-mismatch perfusion imaging profile were included. Patients underwent medical management or endovascular thrombectomy following treating neurointerventionalist and neurologist consensus. The primary outcome measure was NIHSS shift. Secondary outcome measures were symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, in-hospital mortality, and 90-day mRS scores. The primary intention-to-treat and as-treated analyses were compared to determine the impact of crossover patient allocation on study outcome measures. Results Forty-seven patients were included. Thirty underwent medical management (64%) and 17 underwent endovascular thrombectomy (36%). Three medical management patients underwent endovascular thrombectomy due to early clinical deterioration. Presentation NIHSS ( P = 0.82), NIHSS shift ( P = 0.62), and 90-day functional independence (mRS 0–2; P = 0.25) were similar between groups. Endovascular thrombectomy patients demonstrated an increased overall rate of intracranial hemorrhage (35.3% vs. 10.0%; P = 0.04), but symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was similar between groups ( P = 0.25). In-hospital mortality was similar between groups ( P = 0.46), though all two deaths in the medical management group occurred among crossover patients. Endovascular thrombectomy patients demonstrated a longer length of stay (7.6 ± 7.2 vs. 4.3 ± 3.9 days; P = 0.04) and a higher frequency of unfavorable discharge to a skilled-nursing facility ( P = 0.03) rather than home ( P = 0.05). Conclusions Endovascular thrombectomy may pose an unfavorable risk-benefit profile over medical management for endovascular thrombectomy-eligible acute ischemic stroke patients with mild symptoms, which warrants a randomized trial in this subpopulation.


Stroke ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 1087-1090 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathy S. Zhong ◽  
James Beharry ◽  
Daniel Salazar ◽  
Kelly Smith ◽  
Stephen Withington ◽  
...  

Background and Purpose: In ischemic stroke, intravenous tenecteplase is noninferior to alteplase in selected patients and has some practical advantages. Several stroke centers in New Zealand changed to routine off-label intravenous tenecteplase due to improved early recanalization in large vessel occlusion, inconsistent access to thrombectomy within stroke networks, and for consistency in treatment protocols between patients with and without large vessel occlusion. We report the feasibility and safety outcomes in tenecteplase-treated patients. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of consecutive patients thrombolyzed with intravenous tenecteplase at 1 comprehensive and 2 regional stroke centers from July 14, 2018, to February 29, 2020. We report the baseline clinical characteristics, rates of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, and angioedema. These were then compared with patient outcomes with those treated with intravenous alteplase at 2 other comprehensive stroke centers. Multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression models were performed assessing the association of tenecteplase with symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage and independent outcome (modified Rankin Scale score, 0–2) at day 90. Results: There were 165 patients treated with tenecteplase and 254 with alteplase. Age (75 versus 74 years), sex (56% versus 60% male), National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores (8 versus 10), median door-to-needle times (47 versus 48 minutes), or onset-to-needle time (129 versus 130 minutes) were similar between the groups. Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage occurred in 3 (1.8% [95% CI, 0.4–5.3]) tenecteplase patients compared with 7 (2.7% [95% CI, 1.1–5.7]) alteplase patients ( P =0.75). There were no differences between tenecteplase and alteplase in the rates of angioedema (4 [2.4%; 95% CI, 0.7–6.2] versus 1 [0.4%; 95% CI, 0.01–2.2], P =0.08) or 90-day functional independence (100 [61%] versus 140 [57%], P =0.47), respectively. In mixed-effects logistic regression models, there was no significant association between thrombolytic choice and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (odds ratio tenecteplase, 0.62 [95% CI, 0.14–2.80], P =0.53) or functional independence (odds ratio tenecteplase, 1.20 [95% CI, 0.74–1.95], P =0.46). Conclusions: Routine use of tenecteplase for stroke thrombolysis was feasible and had comparable safety profile and outcome to alteplase.


Stroke ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry Zhao ◽  
Skye Coote ◽  
Helen M Dewey ◽  
Stephen M Davis ◽  
Bruce C Campbell

Introduction: Large vessel occlusion (LVO) triage scales aim to identify LVO on clinical grounds and direct ambulances to endovascular centers, but current tools are reported to have poor performance in independent datasets. We investigated situations where these tools were performing poorly and examined the possible impacts of misclassification. Methodology: Patient data were collected prospectively from consecutive ambulance initiated stroke codes at two major stroke centers. Patients with symptom onset >6 hours and pre-existing deficits were excluded. LVO was defined as ICA, M1 or proximal M2 occlusion on CT angiography. National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores assessed by stroke clinicians were used to derive five published triage tools (RACE, LAMS, CPSSS, PASS, FAST-ED). Patients were classified as 1) Typical presentations where LVO presented with severe symptoms (weakness and cortical sign) and non-LVO did not, or 2) Atypical presentations where non-LVO had severe symptoms and LVO did not. Results: A total of 391 patients were included, of whom 59 were atypical presentations which included 25 ICH and 5 mimics. Most triage tools were able to correctly identify >95% of typical presentations but only 10-25% of atypical presentations. Within the atypical cases, bypassing the nearest stroke center would have delayed tPA for 6 patients (3.5% of all infarcts) with non-LVO infarcts. Conversely, of the missed LVO cases 10 patients (19.6% of all LVO) would have been immediately eligible for endovascular therapy. A further 6 M2 occlusions with NIHSS <6 would have been missed but were unlikely to have received intervention due to mild severity. Conclusion: Misclassification by LVO triage tools is largely due to ICH and the uncommon situations where presence of LVO does not correspond to a severe clinical syndrome (and vice versa). Inaccuracies however, would have resulted in relatively few potential tPA patients bypassing the nearest center. Whilst a small proportion of LVO will be missed, overall delivery of LVO to endovascular centers will still be dramatically increased. LVO triage tools therefore have excellent potential to expedite endovascular treatment, but efforts are needed to improve prehospital paramedic accuracy to achieve this goal.


Author(s):  
Vera Sharashidze ◽  
Vasu Saini ◽  
Amer Malik ◽  
Jose Romano

Introduction : Stroke is a major cause of morbidity and mortality around the globe. Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is the standard of care for patients with large vessel occlusion strokes. However, mechanical thrombectomy is associated with a number of complications. Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage is one of the most feared complications of mechanical thrombectomy. In the pooled analysis of five trials, 4.4% of patients developed symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage. Treating physicians should have a good understanding of the potential complications of MT in order to optimize the safety and benefits of this procedure. Yet, the causes of hemorrhagic transformation are largely unknown and the predictors identified in previous studies vary. The goal of our study is to identify the rate and reliable predictors of radiological hemorrhagic transformation (RHT) and symptomatic hemorrhagic transformation (sICH) post mechanical thrombectomy in large vessel ischemic strokes. Methods : This was a retrospective analysis of consecutive large vessel occlusion acute ischemic stroke patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy in a comprehensive stroke center (spanning 02/2015 ‐ 09/2018). Outcome measures included radiological hemorrhagic transformation (RHT) and symptomatic hemorrhagic transformation (sICH). sICH was defined as RHT with worsening of 4points in 24–36h NIHSS (ECASS II criteria) and by at least 1point (NINDS criteria).RHT was further classified according to Heidelberg‐bleeding classification as HI1, HI2, PH1, PH2, and SAH. Independent covariates predictive of RHT or symptomatic hemorrhage (sICH) were identified with multivariable logistic regression. Clinical opinion and the existing literature were used to reduce the number of variables collected at baseline to those considered potentially predictive of stroke progression. Results : Out of 341 patients who underwent thrombectomy, 32% had a radiological hemorrhagic transformation. The median age was 71. Smoking, IV tPA, longer procedure time, and lower TICI scores were associated with RHT. On a separate multivariate analysis, coronary artery disease was a separate predictor of hemorrhagic transformation. Patients with RHT had higher inpatient mortality and less mRs < 3 at discharge. Conclusions : RHT is associated with poor functional outcomes and inpatient mortality. Factors such as smoking, IV tPA, longer procedure time, and lower TICI scores were associated with RHT.


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