ImportanceInternational guidelines recommend avoiding intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in patients with ischemic stroke who have a recent intake of a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC).ObjectiveTo determine the risk of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) associated with use of IVT in patients with recent DOAC ingestion.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis international, multicenter, retrospective cohort study included 64 primary and comprehensive stroke centers across Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. Consecutive adult patients with ischemic stroke who received IVT (both with and without thrombectomy) were included. Patients whose last known DOAC ingestion was more than 48 hours before stroke onset were excluded. A total of 832 patients with recent DOAC use were compared with 32 375 controls without recent DOAC use. Data were collected from January 2008 to December 2021.ExposuresPrior DOAC therapy (confirmed last ingestion within 48 hours prior to IVT) compared with no prior oral anticoagulation.Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe main outcome was sICH within 36 hours after IVT, defined as worsening of at least 4 points on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale and attributed to radiologically evident intracranial hemorrhage. Outcomes were compared according to different selection strategies (DOAC-level measurements, DOAC reversal treatment, IVT with neither DOAC-level measurement nor idarucizumab). The association of sICH with DOAC plasma levels and very recent ingestions was explored in sensitivity analyses.ResultsOf 33 207 included patients, 14 458 (43.5%) were female, and the median (IQR) age was 73 (62-80) years. The median (IQR) National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score was 9 (5-16). Of the 832 patients taking DOAC, 252 (30.3%) received DOAC reversal before IVT (all idarucizumab), 225 (27.0%) had DOAC-level measurements, and 355 (42.7%) received IVT without measuring DOAC plasma levels or reversal treatment. The unadjusted rate of sICH was 2.5% (95% CI, 1.6-3.8) in patients taking DOACs compared with 4.1% (95% CI, 3.9-4.4) in control patients using no anticoagulants. Recent DOAC ingestion was associated with lower odds of sICH after IVT compared with no anticoagulation (adjusted odds ratio, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.36-0.92). This finding was consistent among the different selection strategies and in sensitivity analyses of patients with detectable plasma levels or very recent ingestion.Conclusions and RelevanceIn this study, there was insufficient evidence of excess harm associated with off-label IVT in selected patients after ischemic stroke with recent DOAC ingestion.
BackgroundThe aim of this study was to assess the technical success and procedural safety of the new Silk Vista device (SV) by evaluating the intraprocedural and periprocedural complication rate after its use in several institutions worldwide.MethodsThe study involved a retrospective review of multicenter data regarding a consecutive series of patients with intracranial aneurysms, treated with the SV between September 2020 and January 2021. Clinical, intra/periprocedural and angiographic data, including approach, materials used, aneurysm size and location, device/s, technical details and initial angiographic aneurysm occlusion, were analyzed.Results60 aneurysms were treated with SV in 57 procedures. 66 devices were used, 3 removed and 63 implanted. The devices opened instantaneously in 60 out of 66 (91%) cases and complete wall apposition was achieved in 58 out of 63 (92%) devices implanted. In 4 out of 66 (6%) devices a partial opening of the distal end occurred, and in 5 (8%) devices incomplete apposition was reported. There were 3 (5%) intraprocedural thromboembolic events managed successfully with no permanent neurological morbidity, and 4 (7%) postprocedural events. There was no mortality in this study. The initial occlusion rates in the 60 aneurysms were as follows: O’Kelly–Marotta (OKM) A in 34 (57%) cases, OKM B in 15 (25%) cases, OKM C in 6 (10%) cases, and OKM D in 5 (8%) cases.ConclusionsOur study demonstrated that the use of the new flow diverter Silk Vista for the treatment of intracranial aneurysms is feasible and technically safe.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.