Endovascular treatments for ischemic stroke did not improve clinical outcomes compared with medical therapy, despite higher recanalization rates, in two new studies.
Two research groups conducted randomized trials to assess the long-term effects of endovascular stroke treatment.
Ciccone and colleagues randomized 362 patients with acute ischemic stroke to either endovascular therapy (with any approved thrombectomy device and/or intra-arterial lytic) or to intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) alone. The outcome of interest — disability-free survival at 90 days (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] score of 0 or 1) — was 30% in the endovascular-therapy group and 35% in the intravenous TPA group, a nonsignificant difference. The results did not change after adjustment for age, sex, stroke severity, or the presence of atrial fibrillation.
In an international study by Broderick and colleagues, 656 patients rec…
Reviewing Author
DisclosuresSpeaker’s bureauGenentech
Grant / Research supportNational Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; Michael Goldberg Stroke Research Fund
Editorial boardsPLOS One; Scientific Reports
Leadership positions in professional societiesNeurocritical Care Society (Research Committee Member)
DisclosuresSpeaker’s bureauGenentech
Grant / Research supportNational Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; Michael Goldberg Stroke Research Fund
Editorial boardsPLOS One; Scientific Reports
Leadership positions in professional societiesNeurocritical Care Society (Research Committee Member)