Thrombolysis 3 to 4.5 Hours After Ischemic Stroke: An Update

An analysis of SITS-ISTR registry data provides reassurance on the safety of thrombolysis soon after 3 hours in a select stroke population, but reemphasizes the importance of earliest possible treatment.

This study is an updated assessment of data from the ongoing Safe Implementation of Treatments in Stroke–International Stroke Thrombolysis Registry (SITS-ISTR), a partially manufacturer-funded, prospective, multicenter, international database of patients with ischemic stroke treated with alteplase between December 2002 and February 2010. Some changes in treatment may have occurred during this period, as it spanned the publication (in October 2008) of the European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study (ECASS) III, in which alteplase given 3.0 to 4.5 hours after ischemic stroke onset produced similar outcomes to treatment within 3.0 hours, with no additional hemorrhage risk. The principal outcomes of this further analysis of SITS-ISTR were time from…

Reviewing Author

Gregory J. del Zoppo, MD

Thrombolysis 3 to 4.5 Hours After Ischemic Stroke: An Update

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Reviewing Author