Background: Timely reperfusion directly impacts favorable neurologic outcomes in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. Most strokes present outside the 3-4.5 h window for intravenous thrombolysis (IV-tPA). Catheter-based therapy (CBT) is commonly used in patients not eligible for timely IV-tPa, but variables that predict good neurologic outcomes are poorly understood.
Methods: Results of 124 consecutive AIS patients who received CBT at Ochsner Medical Center from 2006 and 2012 are reported. A modified Rankin score (mRs) of ≤ 2 at 90 day post-CBT was used as the primary measurement of a good neurologic outcome. All-cause mortality during the index hospitalization, ≤30 days from treatment, and at 1 year were reported. Results are reported as those treated by Interventional Cardiologists (IC) or by Neurointerventionalists (NI).
Results: The mean age was 65 ± 16 years of which 48% (n = 52) were male. The mean NIHSS was 15.0 ± 7.5. Thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (TICI) ≥2 flow was achieved in 80% (n = 100). Good neurologic outcome was observed in 64% (n = 37 of 58) of patients 65 years or younger while in those older than 65, only 36% (n = 24 of 66) had the same outcome (P = 0.002). Mortality at 30 days for the two age groups were 21% (n = 12) vs. 50% (n = 33) (P = <0.001) respectively. A good neurologic outcome at 90 days was seen in 57% of patients with restoration of TICI ≥ 2 flow compared to 17% with TICI < 2 flow (P = <0.001). Those with failed reperfusion (TICI<2 flow) had 30-day mortality rate of 54% (13 of 24) vs. 20% (19 of 97) in those with TICI ≥ 2 flow (P = <0.001). At 90 days, there was no significant differences in patient outcomes between IC (n = 58) and NI (n = 66) treated patients.
Conclusion: Successful revascularization with CBT leads to a good neurologic outcome in selected stroke patients. Medical co-morbidities and increased age > 65 years contributed to poor outcomes. To support broadening the number of physicians qualified to perform catheter-based stroke interventions, this study demonstrates that IC participating on a stroke team achieve comparable outcomes to NI.
Keywords: CBT in AIS; cerebral angioplasty; cerebral artery stent; ischemic stroke therapy; percutaneous stroke intervention.
© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.