CT Angiography in an Acute Stroke Protocol: Correlation between Occlusion Site and Outcome of Intravenous Thrombolysis

Abstract

<jats:p> Thrombolysis with intravenous rt-PA is the current therapy for acute ischemic stroke. Unlike other outcome factors, relatively little is known about the prognostic value of the occlusion site on treatment outcome. We compared the effectiveness and safety of intravenous thrombolysis in patients with different levels of occlusion identified by CT angiography (CTA) in anterior circulation stroke, and analyzed the influence of the occlusion site on treatment outcome in relation to other outcome factors. </jats:p><jats:p> We selected 71 patients from a stroke database collected between June 2007 and December 2011 at our hospital. All of the studied patients had anterior circulation stroke with intracranial occlusion detected by CTA and were treated with intravenous rt-PA. They were divided into two groups according to the site of occlusion along the middle cerebral artery course: proximal (carotid “T”, complete M1 and mild M1 occlusions) and distal (M2/M3 occlusions). Treatment effectiveness was assessed by modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at three months, considering a positive outcome a mRS value ≤ 2. Treatment safety was assessed by evaluating the rate of hemorrhagic complications seen on unenhanced CT at 24 hours. Binary logistic regression was performed to evaluate the interaction between occlusion site and other variables such as sex, age, ASPECT score on admission and baseline NIHSS value in determining treatment outcome. </jats:p><jats:p> The degree of effectiveness and safety differed when considering patients with proximal and distal occlusions. The percentage of successfully treated cases was 28.6% in the first group compared to 72% in the second, and the rate of hemorrhagic complications was 28.6% and 6% respectively. After adjustment for sex, age, ASPECT score on admission and baseline NIHSS value, occlusion site was the only variable significantly influencing treatment safety and, together with baseline NIHSS value, the only valid predictor of treatment effectiveness. </jats:p><jats:p> We demonstrated a correlation between the site of arterial occlusion and outcome of intravenous thrombolysis. By helping the choice of the best therapeutic strategy depending on the identified occlusion site, CTA could be usefully added to the examinations included in the Stroke Protocol for the baseline evaluation of patients with suspected acute stroke. </jats:p>

Mechanical thrombectomy versus systemic thrombolysis in MCA stroke: a distance to thrombus-based outcome analysis

“…Furthermore, it was a retrospective non-randomized design. Also, our study focused on only a specific type of MCA occlusions, although this is a highly relevant occlusion location as it is known to have extremely low chances of a good clinical outcome when treated with IVT 21. The comparisons of our results with major IVT trials and the MR CLEAN Trial in figure 4 are mainly for illustration purpose, since the study designs are substantially different.…”

Interventional Ischemic Stroke Treatment – A (R)evolution

“…Nonetheless, individual case series have been able to show excellent results in some more distal occlusions without a significant increase in complications [42,43]. However, there are no randomized studies with a comparison group, and this is crucial since distal occlusions also benefit from intravenous thrombolysis [44]. More precise methods for determining the location of the occlusion (e. g. the distance to the thrombus [45], etc.)…”

Association of Cortical Vein Filling with Clot Location and Clinical Outcomes in Acute Ischaemic Stroke Patients

“…Location and the volume of the thrombus are also important factors in prognostication of AIS18192021222324252627. Proximal, high volume clots have poor clinical outcomes, while, low-volume, distal thrombus is associated with good clinical outcomes.…”