Thrombectomy Within Eight Hours of Stroke Onset Reduces Post-Stroke Disability
Clinical question: Does thrombectomy, in conjunction with medical therapy, improve functional independence in patients with an acute proximal anterior stroke?
Background: Revascularization of proximal anterior strokes with alteplase alone occurs less than 50% of the time. First-generation thrombectomy devices (i.e., Merci and Penumbra) have not shown improvement in revascularization or functional outcomes; however, the development of thrombectomy stent retriever devices has led to more promising results, with several recent studies demonstrating functional improvement using endovascular retrieval in addition to medical therapy in proximal anterior circulation strokes.
Study design: Prospective, multicenter, randomized, sequential, open-label, phase 3 study with blinded evaluation.
Setting: Four hospitals in Spain.
Synopsis: Approximately 200 patients who were diagnosed within eight hours of onset of a large vessel anterior stroke were randomly assigned to medical therapy (alteplase) plus endovascular treatment versus medical therapy alone. In order to reduce selection bias, the study was conducted within a population-based registry of acute stroke patients from the same area. The major exclusion criterion was evidence of a large infarct on imaging. The primary outcome was severity of disability at 90 days based on the modified Rankin score.
Study results showed a significant improvement in functional status in the thrombectomy group, with 66% of patients demonstrating revascularization. The rate of death and intracranial hemorrhage was similar between both groups.
The trial stopped recruitment after the first interim analysis given lack of equipoise, with emerging literature supporting endovascular therapy.
Bottom line: Thrombectomy performed in proximal, large vessel anterior circulation strokes within eight hours of onset of symptoms improves functional status at 90 days.
Citation: Jovin TG, Chamorro A, Cobo E, et al. Thrombectomy within 8 hours after symptoms onset in ischemic stroke. New Engl J Med. 2015;372(24):2296-2306.