Stentrievers versus other endovascular treatment methods for acute stroke: comparison of procedural results and their relationship to outcomes

Background and purpose The use of stentrievers (ST) is rapidly growing due to several potential benefits over other available treatments. ST potentially restore flow before clot retrieval and reduce procedural time. We aimed to study the impact of these potential benefits.

Methods Patients with acute stroke treated with endovascular procedures in two stroke centers were studied. According to device availability, patients were treated either with intra-arterial tissue plasminogen activator (IAT), Merci or ST. We defined time to initial flow restoration as time from symptom onset to first pass of contrast to previously occluded arteries either through the deployed device or after recanalization. Complete recanalization (Thrombolysis In Cerebral Infarction >2b), day 5 National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score and favorable outcome at 3 months (modified Rankin Scale score≤2) were recorded.  Read more