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Background@#and Purpose Despite the widespread adoption of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for the treatment of large vessel occlusion stroke (LVOS) in the anterior circulation, the optimal strategy for the treatment tandem occlusion related to cervical internal carotid artery (ICA) dissection is still debated. This individual patient pooled analysis investigated the safety and efficacy of prior intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in anterior circulation tandem occlusion related to cervical ICA dissection treated with MT. @*Methods@#We performed a retrospective analysis of two merged prospective multicenter international real-world observational registries: Endovascular Treatment in Ischemic Stroke (ETIS) and Thrombectomy In TANdem occlusions (TITAN) registries. Data from MT performed in the treatment of tandem LVOS related to cervical ICA dissection between January 2012 and December 2019 at 24 comprehensive stroke centers were analyzed. The primary endpoint was a favorable outcome defined as 90-day modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 0–2. @*Results@#The study included 144 patients with tandem occlusion LVOS due to cervical ICA dissection, of whom 94 (65.3%) received IVT before MT. Prior IVT was significantly associated with a better clinical outcome considering the mRS shift analysis (common odds ratio, 2.59; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.35 to 4.93; P=0.004 for a 1-point improvement) and excellent outcome (90-day mRS 0–1) (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 4.23; 95% CI, 1.60 to 11.18). IVT was also associated with a higher rate of intracranial successful reperfusion (83.0% vs. 64.0%; aOR, 2.70; 95% CI, 1.21 to 6.03) and a lower rate of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (4.3% vs. 14.8%; aOR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.05 to 0.80). @*Conclusions@#Prior IVT before MT for the treatment of tandem occlusion related to cervical ICA dissection was safe and associated with an improved 90-day functional outcome.
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Background@#and Purpose Despite the widespread adoption of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for the treatment of large vessel occlusion stroke (LVOS) in the anterior circulation, the optimal strategy for the treatment tandem occlusion related to cervical internal carotid artery (ICA) dissection is still debated. This individual patient pooled analysis investigated the safety and efficacy of prior intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in anterior circulation tandem occlusion related to cervical ICA dissection treated with MT. @*Methods@#We performed a retrospective analysis of two merged prospective multicenter international real-world observational registries: Endovascular Treatment in Ischemic Stroke (ETIS) and Thrombectomy In TANdem occlusions (TITAN) registries. Data from MT performed in the treatment of tandem LVOS related to cervical ICA dissection between January 2012 and December 2019 at 24 comprehensive stroke centers were analyzed. The primary endpoint was a favorable outcome defined as 90-day modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 0–2. @*Results@#The study included 144 patients with tandem occlusion LVOS due to cervical ICA dissection, of whom 94 (65.3%) received IVT before MT. Prior IVT was significantly associated with a better clinical outcome considering the mRS shift analysis (common odds ratio, 2.59; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.35 to 4.93; P=0.004 for a 1-point improvement) and excellent outcome (90-day mRS 0–1) (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 4.23; 95% CI, 1.60 to 11.18). IVT was also associated with a higher rate of intracranial successful reperfusion (83.0% vs. 64.0%; aOR, 2.70; 95% CI, 1.21 to 6.03) and a lower rate of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (4.3% vs. 14.8%; aOR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.05 to 0.80). @*Conclusions@#Prior IVT before MT for the treatment of tandem occlusion related to cervical ICA dissection was safe and associated with an improved 90-day functional outcome.
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BackgroundFollowing the emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), early reports suggested a decrease in stroke and acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We sought to provide descriptive statistics for stroke and ACS from a sample of hospitals throughout the United States, comparing data from March 2020 to similar months pre-COVID. MethodsWe performed a retrospective analysis of 65 academic and community hospitals in the Vizient Clinical Data Base. The primary outcome is monthly count of stroke and ACS, and acute procedures for both, from February and March in 2020 compared to the same months in 2018 and 2019. Results are aggregated for all hospitals and reported by Census Region. ResultsWe identified 51,246 strokes (42,780 ischemic, 8,466 hemorrhagic), 1,043 mechanical thrombectomies (MT), 836 tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) administrations, 36,551 ACS, and 3,925 percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) for ACS. In February 2020, relative to February 2018 and 2019, hospitalizations with any discharge diagnosis of stroke and ACS increased by 9.8% and 12.1%, respectively, while in March 2020 they decreased 18.5% and 7.5%, relative to March 2018 and 2019. When only including hospitalizations with the primary discharge diagnosis of stroke or ACS, in March 2020 they decreased 17.6% and 25.7%, respectively. In March 2020, tPA decreased 3.3%, MT increased 18.8%, although in February 2020 it had increased 36.8%, and PCI decreased 14.7%. These decreases were observed in all Census regions. ConclusionsFollowing greater recognition of the risks of COVID-19, hospitalizations with stroke and ACS were markedly diminished in a geographically diverse sample of United States hospitals. Because the most likely explanation is that some patients with stroke and ACS did not seek medical care, the underlying reasons for this decrease warrant additional study to inform public health efforts and clinical care during this and future pandemics.
