Intracranial stenting of subacute symptomatic atherosclerotic occlusion versus stenosis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Limited data are available concerning the outcome of angioplasty/stenting for subacute atherosclerotic intracranial artery occlusion, which is often associated with progressive symptom development in the salvageable brain under ischemic threat due to poor collateral blood supply. METHODS: Among 177 patients who underwent angioplasty and/or stenting for severe symptomatic intracranial steno-occlusion, 26 had subacute atherosclerotic intracranial artery occlusion. Outcome after stenting (N=22) was assessed according to procedural success (return of antegrade flow and residual stenosis<50%), adverse event (any stroke or death) rate, and restenosis (>50%) using weighted Cox proportional hazards regression in the overall cohort and in separate subgroups. RESULTS: Successful recanalization was achieved in 95%. Three adverse events (13.6%) occurred among patients undergoing stenting for occlusion, including 2 major strokes and 1 nonprocedure-related death. Good outcome (modified Rankin Scale≤2) was achieved in 73%. In the overall cohort, no significant difference was observed between the occlusion and stenosis groups in terms of the risk of adverse events (hazard ratio for the occlusion group, 1.055; 95% CI, 0.29-3.90) or the risk of restenosis (hazard ratio for the occlusion group, 1.2; 95% CI, 0.19-7.72). A trend toward a higher rate of adverse events was observed in older age (>65 years), progressive worsening, balloon-expandable stent, and no history of a preprocedural P2Y12 assay. CONCLUSIONS: In a cohort of patients undergoing angioplasty/stenting for subacute atherosclerotic intracranial artery occlusion, no significant difference in the rates of adverse events was observed. However, several factors, including age, tended to be associated with a higher event rate.