A thrombectomy can improve outcomes for acute ischemic stroke patients if performed six to 16 hours after symptoms begin, according to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers conducted a multicenter trial that included acute ischemic stroke patients who were identified as having salvageable brain tissue through brain imaging software. The trial included 182 randomized patients at 38 centers across the U.S.
The study shows, in this select group of patients, thrombectomy improved outcomes. Forty-five percent of patients in the thrombectomy group were considered functionally independent 90 days after treatment, compared to just 17 percent who did not undergo a thrombectomy.
Additionally, the mortality rate was 14 percent in the thrombectomy group versus 26 percent in the control group.
"This landmark clinical trial showed that with careful patient and CT/MR imaging selection to identify brain tissue that was still salvageable beyond the traditional six-hour interventional window, up to 16 hours, mechanical thrombectomy was safe and effective in improving patients' clinical outcomes," said Sameer A. Ansari, MD, PhD, associate professor of radiology, neurology and neurological surgery at Chicago-based Northwestern's Feinburg School of Medicine and a study co-author.