In patients with acute ischemic stroke caused by a proximal intracranial occlusion of the anterior circulation, intraarterial treatment administered within 6 hours after stroke onset was effective and safe. (Funded by the Dutch Heart Foundation and others; MR CLEAN Netherlands Trial Registry number, NTR1804, and Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN10888758.).

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Background and Purpose-We updated our previous review from 1996 on the risk of rupture of unruptured intracranial aneurysms, aiming to include the newly published articles. Methods-We reviewed all studies from our former meta-analysis and performed a Medline search for new studies published after 1996. We calculated overall risks of rupture for studies with a mean follow-up time of Ͻ5, 5 to 10, and Ͼ10 years. Relative risks (RR) were calculated by comparing the risk of rupture in patients with and without potential risk factors. We aimed to perform multivariable analyses of the different risk factors with meta-regression analysis. Results-We included 19 studies (10 new) with 4705 patients and 6556 unruptured aneurysms (follow-up 26 122 patient-years). The overall rupture risks were 1.2% (follow-up Ͻ5 years), 0.6% (follow-up 5 to 10 years), and 1.3% (follow-up Ͼ10 years). In the univariable analysis, statistically significant risk factors for rupture were age Ͼ60 years (RR 2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1 to 3.7), female gender (RR 1.6; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.4), Japanese or Finnish descent (RR 3.4; 95% CI, 2.6 to 4.4), size Ͼ5 mm (RR 2.3; 95% CI, 1.0 to 5.2), posterior circulation aneurysm (RR 2.5; 95% CI, 1.6 to 4.1), and symptomatic aneurysm (RR 4.4; 95% CI, 2.8 to 6.8). Meta-regression analysis yielded implausible results. Conclusions-Age, gender, population, size, site, and type of aneurysm should be considered in the decision whether to treat an unruptured aneurysm. Pooled multivariable analyses of individual data are needed to identify independent risk factors and to provide more reliable risk estimates for individual patients.

BACKGROUNDThe effectiveness of endovascular therapy in patients with stroke caused by basilarartery occlusion has not been well studied. METHODSWe randomly assigned patients within 6 hours after the estimated time of onset of a stroke due to basilar-artery occlusion, in a 1:1 ratio, to receive endovascular therapy or standard medical care. The primary outcome was a favorable functional outcome, defined as a score of 0 to 3 on the modified Rankin scale (range, 0 to 6, with 0 indicating no disability, 3 indicating moderate disability, and 6 indicating death) at 90 days. The primary safety outcomes were symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage within 3 days after the initiation of treatment and mortality at 90 days. RESULTSA total of 300 patients were enrolled (154 in the endovascular therapy group and 146 in the medical care group). Intravenous thrombolysis was used in 78.6% of the patients in the endovascular group and in 79.5% of those in the medical group. Endovascular treatment was initiated at a median of 4.4 hours after stroke onset. A favorable functional outcome occurred in 68 of 154 patients (44.2%) in the endovascular group and 55 of 146 patients (37.7%) in the medical care group (risk ratio, 1.18; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.92 to 1.50). Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage occurred in 4.5% of the patients after endovascular therapy and in 0.7% of those after medical therapy (risk ratio, 6.9; 95% CI, 0.9 to 53.0); mortality at 90 days was 38.3% and 43.2%, respectively (risk ratio, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.68 to 1.12). CONCLUSIONSAmong patients with stroke from basilar-artery occlusion, endovascular therapy and medical therapy did not differ significantly with respect to a favorable functional outcome, but, as reflected by the wide confidence interval for the primary outcome, the results of this trial may not exclude a substantial benefit of endovascular therapy. Larger trials are needed to determine the efficacy and safety of endovascular therapy for basilar-artery occlusion. (Funded by the Dutch Heart Foundation and others; BASICS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01717755; Netherlands Trial Register number, NL2500.

Campbell, B. C.V. et al. (2019) Penumbral imaging and functional outcome in patients with anterior circulation ischaemic stroke treated with endovascular thrombectomy versus medical therapy: a meta-analysis of individual patient-level data.ABSTRACT Background: CT-perfusion (CTP) and MRI may assist patient selection for endovascular thrombectomy. We aimed to establish whether imaging assessments of ischaemic core and penumbra volumes were associated with functional outcomes and treatment effect.

Background and Purpose— Recent randomized trials have proven the benefit of intra-arterial treatment (IAT) with retrievable stents in acute ischemic stroke. Patients with poor or absent collaterals (preexistent anastomoses to maintain blood flow in case of a primary vessel occlusion) may gain less clinical benefit from IAT. In this post hoc analysis, we aimed to assess whether the effect of IAT was modified by collateral status on baseline computed tomographic angiography in the Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial of Endovascular Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke in the Netherlands (MR CLEAN). Methods— MR CLEAN was a multicenter, randomized trial of IAT versus no IAT. Primary outcome was the modified Rankin Scale at 90 days. The primary effect parameter was the adjusted common odds ratio for a shift in direction of a better outcome on the modified Rankin Scale. Collaterals were graded from 0 (absent) to 3 (good). We used multivariable ordinal logistic regression analysis with interaction terms to estimate treatment effect modification by collateral status. Results— We found a significant modification of treatment effect by collaterals ( P =0.038). The strongest benefit (adjusted common odds ratio 3.2 [95% confidence intervals 1.7–6.2]) was found in patients with good collaterals (grade 3). The adjusted common odds ratio was 1.6 [95% confidence intervals 1.0–2.7] for moderate collaterals (grade 2), 1.2 [95% confidence intervals 0.7–2.3] for poor collaterals (grade 1), and 1.0 [95% confidence intervals 0.1–8.7] for patients with absent collaterals (grade 0). Conclusions— In MR CLEAN, baseline computed tomographic angiography collateral status modified the treatment effect. The benefit of IAT was greatest in patients with good collaterals on baseline computed tomographic angiography. Treatment benefit appeared less and may be absent in patients with absent or poor collaterals. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.trialregister.nl and http://www.controlled-trials.com . Unique identifier: (NTR)1804 and ISRCTN10888758, respectively.

Objective:We endeavored to develop an unruptured intracranial aneurysm (UIA) treatment score (UIATS) model that includes and quantifies key factors involved in clinical decision-making in the management of UIAs and to assess agreement for this model among specialists in UIA management and research.Methods:An international multidisciplinary (neurosurgery, neuroradiology, neurology, clinical epidemiology) group of 69 specialists was convened to develop and validate the UIATS model using a Delphi consensus. For internal (39 panel members involved in identification of relevant features) and external validation (30 independent external reviewers), 30 selected UIA cases were used to analyze agreement with UIATS management recommendations based on a 5-point Likert scale (5 indicating strong agreement). Interrater agreement (IRA) was assessed with standardized coefficients of dispersion (vr*) (vr* = 0 indicating excellent agreement and vr* = 1 indicating poor agreement).Results:The UIATS accounts for 29 key factors in UIA management. Agreement with UIATS (mean Likert scores) was 4.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.1–4.3) per reviewer for both reviewer cohorts; agreement per case was 4.3 (95% CI 4.1–4.4) for panel members and 4.5 (95% CI 4.3–4.6) for external reviewers (p = 0.017). Mean Likert scores were 4.2 (95% CI 4.1–4.3) for interventional reviewers (n = 56) and 4.1 (95% CI 3.9–4.4) for noninterventional reviewers (n = 12) (p = 0.290). Overall IRA (vr*) for both cohorts was 0.026 (95% CI 0.019–0.033).Conclusions:This novel UIA decision guidance study captures an excellent consensus among highly informed individuals on UIA management, irrespective of their underlying specialty. Clinicians can use the UIATS as a comprehensive mechanism for indicating how a large group of specialists might manage an individual patient with a UIA.

This study provides Class II evidence that for patients with acute ischemic stroke undergoing IAT, mRS scores at 90 days improve only in patients treated without GA.