The capillary index score: rethinking the acute ischemic stroke treatment algorithm. Results from thBorgess Medical Center Acute Ischemic Stroke Registry

Background Despite increased recanalization rates in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke, the percentage of patients with a good clinical outcome of all those treated has not risen above 50%. This 50% barrier may be broken by improving the criteria for treatment selection. This study investigated the addition of the capillary index score (CIS), a new index for assessing remaining viable tissue in the ischemic area, to the existing criteria.

Methods The Borgess Medical Center Ischemic Stroke Registry is a non-randomized single-center single-operator registry of consecutive subjects admitted for intra-arterial treatment of acute ischemic stroke. The CIS was calculated from a pre-intervention catheter cerebral angiogram in subjects with internal carotid artery (ICA) or middle cerebral artery (MCA) (M1) occlusion. Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) 2 or 3 was considered successful recanalization. A modified Rankin Scale (mRS) of 0–2 at 3 months was considered a good outcome. Read more