scholarly journals Advances in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke: the 2018 American Stroke Association recommendation

2018 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-88
Author(s):  
Csiba László

Abstract The imaging studies should be performed within 20 minutes after arrival and the door-to-needle time should be less than 60 minutes in more than 50 % of the patients. The time-windows and the outcome should be evaluated systematically. If the patient is suitable for intravenous (IV) thrombolysis within 3 hours (based on imaging) only the blood glucose measurement should precede the IV lysis. IV thrombolysis within 3 hours is recommended not only in case of severe stroke, but also in patients with severe isolated symptoms (e.g. aphasia or visual field defect) and in patients with improving paresis. The IV lysis should be considered both in patients on aspirin monotherapy or aspirin+clopidogrel therapy. The criteria for stroke cases between 3 to 4.5 hours became less exclusive: IV intervention can be considered in patients ≥80years, in patients with previous stroke and diabetes and also in patients with INR < 1.7. Mechanical thrombectomy (for interna or media occlusion) can be also considered within 4.5 hours after a non-successful intravenous thrombolysis. Other criteria for mechanical thrombectomy (interna or media occlusion) between 4.5 and 6 hours: NIHSS ≥ 6, ASPECTS score ≥ 6. For patients with interna or media occlusion between 6 and 16 hours, only mechanical thrombectomy could be recommended (by Solitaire or TREVO retriever), if the patient has large penumbra (confirmed by either perfusion CT or MRI and following the criteria of DAWN and DEFUSE-3 studies). Between 16 and 24 hours after stroke, a mechanical thrombectomy can be considered (selected by perfusion CT or MRI), if the patient fulfills DAWN criteria.

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Supplement_G) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Strisciuglio ◽  
Valerio Pergolae ◽  
Giuseppe Ammirati ◽  
Lucio Addeo ◽  
Gaetano Todde ◽  
...  

Abstract Aims Atrial fibrillation (AF) increases the risk of ischaemic strokes (IS) and is associated with a more severe neurological impairment. We sought to investigate whether AF also impacts the neurological recovery and whether patients with AF have a different response to the treatment. Methods and results Data of patients admitted to the Stroke Unit of our institution from January to December 2020 were retrieved from the local database. The stroke severity was calculated by mean of the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at hospital admission (NIHSSad), at 24 h (NIHSS24) and at discharge (NIHSSdis). The functional capacity was assessed by the modified Rankin score (mRS). As for the neurological recovery, this was assessed by the delta NIHSS at 24 h (Δ24 = NIHSS24−NIHSSad) and at discharge (Δdis = NIHSSdis−NIHSSad). Out of 545 patients with IS 64 had known history of AF or were admitted with AF. Patients with AF had higher NIHSSad (13.9 ± 7 vs. 8.5 ± 7; P &lt; 0.001) and NIHSS24 (9.6 ± 8 vs. 6.4 ± 7; P = 0.007) than patients without, however the neurological improvement was greater (Δdis −7.4 ± 9 vs. −3.4 ± 6; P = 0.002), indeed the NIHSSdis was similar (4.2 ± 5 vs. 4.2 ± 6; P = 0.98). Patients with AF also had a more impaired mRS before the ischaemic event and at discharge (2.4 ± 1.9 vs. 1.6 ± 1.7, P = 0.02; 1.2 ± 1.2 vs. 0.4 ± 0.9, P &lt; 0.001). Among AF patients with CHADVASC ≥ 3, 34% of them were taking antiplatelet therapy, 31% anticoagulants, and 35% didn’t take any therapy. Of interest, no differences in the NIHSSad nor in the NIHSSdis were found between them and neither in the Δdis. As for the treatment of AF patients, no differences in the neurological recovery were observed between those treated with intravenous thrombolysis and those not treated at all (Δdis 2.8 ± 5 vs. 2.8 ± 8, P = 1), whereas the Δdis was significantly higher in patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy (−11.7 ± 7, P = 0.007). Conclusions Patients with AF experience more severe stroke, however the neurological recovery is greater than in patients without the arrhythmia. The treatment with antiplatelets or anticoagulants before the event does not reduce the severity of the stroke and does not influence the improvement of the NIHSS at discharge. The mechanical thrombectomy is more effective in reducing the neurological impairment.


2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Wetter ◽  
Mi-Rim Shin ◽  
D. Meila ◽  
F. Brassel ◽  
M. Schlunz-Hendann

We describe a case of combined mechanical thrombectomy of the right middle cerebral artery and stent angioplasty of the right internal carotid artery in a severe stroke caused by arterio-arterial embolism due to a traumatic dissection of the internal carotid artery. The patient was admitted with an NIHSS score of 19 and was discharged from hospital with a score of 2. Three months later neurological examination disclosed no pathological findings. The case demonstrates the crucial role of interventional procedures in the treatment of severe stroke where intravenous thrombolysis has little prospect of success.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ho Jun Yi ◽  
Jae Hoon Sung ◽  
Dong Hoon Lee

Objective: We investigated whether intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) affected the outcomes and complications of mechanical thrombectomy (MT), specifically focusing on thrombus fragmentation. Methods: The patients who underwent MT for large artery occlusion (LAO) were classified into two groups: MT with prior IVT (MT+IVT) group and MT without prior IVT (MT-IVT) group. The clinical outcome, successful recanalization with other radiological outcomes, and complications were compared, between two groups. Subgroup analysis was also performed for patients with simultaneous application of stent retriever and aspiration. Results: There were no significant differences in clinical outcome and successful recanalization rate, between both groups. However, the ratio of pre- to peri-procedural thrombus fragmentation was significantly higher in the MT+IVT group (14.6% and 16.2%, respectively; P=0.004) compared to the MT-IVT group (5.1% and 6.8%, respectively; P=0.008). The MT+IVT group required more second stent retriever (16.2%), more stent passages (median value = 2), and more occurrence of distal emboli (3.9%) than the MT-IVT group (7.9%, median value = 1, and 8.1%, respectively) (P=0.004, 0.008 and 0.018, respectively). In subgroup analysis, the results were similar to those of the entire patients. Conclusion: Thrombus fragmentation of IVT with t-PA before MT resulted in an increased need for additional rescue therapies, and it could induce more distal emboli. The use of IVT prior to MT does not affect the clinical outcome and successful recanalization, compared with MT without prior IVT. Therefore, we need to reconsider the need for IVT before MT.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 175628642110211
Author(s):  
Georgios Magoufis ◽  
Apostolos Safouris ◽  
Guy Raphaeli ◽  
Odysseas Kargiotis ◽  
Klearchos Psychogios ◽  
...  

Recent randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) have revolutionized acute ischemic stroke care by extending the use of intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular reperfusion therapies in time windows that have been originally considered futile or even unsafe. Both systemic and endovascular reperfusion therapies have been shown to improve outcome in patients with wake-up strokes or symptom onset beyond 4.5 h for intravenous thrombolysis and beyond 6 h for endovascular treatment; however, they require advanced neuroimaging to select stroke patients safely. Experts have proposed simpler imaging algorithms but high-quality data on safety and efficacy are currently missing. RCTs used diverse imaging and clinical inclusion criteria for patient selection during the dawn of this novel stroke treatment paradigm. After taking into consideration the dismal prognosis of nonrecanalized ischemic stroke patients and the substantial clinical benefit of reperfusion therapies in selected late presenters, we propose rescue reperfusion therapies for acute ischemic stroke patients not fulfilling all clinical and imaging inclusion criteria as an option in a subgroup of patients with clinical and radiological profiles suggesting low risk for complications, notably hemorrhagic transformation as well as local or remote parenchymal hemorrhage. Incorporating new data to treatment algorithms may seem perplexing to stroke physicians, since treatment and imaging capabilities of each stroke center may dictate diverse treatment pathways. This narrative review will summarize current data that will assist clinicians in the selection of those late presenters that will most likely benefit from acute reperfusion therapies. Different treatment algorithms are provided according to available neuroimaging and endovascular treatment capabilities.


Author(s):  
Juha-Pekka Pienimäki ◽  
Jyrki Ollikainen ◽  
Niko Sillanpää ◽  
Sara Protto

Abstract Purpose Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is the first-line treatment in acute stroke patients presenting with large vessel occlusion (LVO). The efficacy of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) prior to MT is being contested. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of MT without IVT in patients with no contraindications to IVT presenting directly to a tertiary stroke center with acute anterior circulation LVO. Materials and Methods We collected the data of 106 acute stroke patients who underwent MT in a single high-volume stroke center. Patients with anterior circulation LVO eligible for IVT and directly admitted to our institution who subsequently underwent MT were included. We recorded baseline clinical, laboratory, procedural, and imaging variables and technical, imaging, and clinical outcomes. The effect of intravenous thrombolysis on 3-month clinical outcome (mRS) was analyzed with univariate tests and binary and ordinal logistic regression analysis. Results Fifty-eight out of the 106 patients received IVT + MT. These patients had 2.6-fold higher odds of poorer clinical outcome in mRS shift analysis (p = 0.01) compared to MT-only patients who had excellent 3-month clinical outcome (mRS 0–1) three times more often (p = 0.009). There were no significant differences between the groups in process times, mTICI, or number of hemorrhagic complications. A trend of less distal embolization and higher number of device passes was observed among the MT-only patients. Conclusions MT without prior IVT was associated with an improved overall three-month clinical outcome in acute anterior circulation LVO patients.


2021 ◽  
pp. 197140092110091
Author(s):  
Hanna Styczen ◽  
Matthias Gawlitza ◽  
Nuran Abdullayev ◽  
Alex Brehm ◽  
Carmen Serna-Candel ◽  
...  

Background Data on outcome of endovascular treatment in patients with acute ischaemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion suffering from intravenous thrombolysis-associated intracranial haemorrhage prior to mechanical thrombectomy remain scarce. Addressing this subject, we report our multicentre experience. Methods A retrospective analysis of consecutive acute ischaemic stroke patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy due to large vessel occlusion despite the pre-interventional occurrence of intravenous thrombolysis-associated intracranial haemorrhage was performed at five tertiary care centres between January 2010–September 2020. Baseline demographics, aetiology of stroke and intracranial haemorrhage, angiographic outcome assessed by the Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score and clinical outcome evaluated by the modified Rankin Scale at 90 days were recorded. Results In total, six patients were included in the study. Five individuals demonstrated cerebral intraparenchymal haemorrhage on pre-interventional imaging; in one patient additional subdural haematoma was observed and one patient suffered from isolated subarachnoid haemorrhage. All patients except one were treated by the ‘drip-and-ship’ paradigm. Successful reperfusion was achieved in 4/6 (67%) individuals. In 5/6 (83%) patients, the pre-interventional intracranial haemorrhage had aggravated in post-interventional computed tomography with space-occupying effect. Overall, five patients had died during the hospital stay. The clinical outcome of the survivor was modified Rankin Scale=4 at 90 days follow-up. Conclusion Mechanical thrombectomy in patients with intravenous thrombolysis-associated intracranial haemorrhage is technically feasible. The clinical outcome of this subgroup of stroke patients, however, appears to be devastating with high mortality and only carefully selected patients might benefit from endovascular treatment.


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