A very early neurological improvement after intravenous thrombolysis for acute cerebral ischaemia does not necessarily predict a favourable outcome

Early epileptic seizures in ischaemic stroke treated by mechanical thrombectomy: influence of rt-PA

BACKGROUND

The epileptogenicity of recombinant tissue-plasminogen activator (rt-PA) has been suggested, but seizures were not evaluated in randomised controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate whether rt-PA was associated with early seizures in a cohort of consecutive patients with cerebral ischaemia.

METHOD

We included consecutive adults with ischaemic stroke due to large-vessel occlusion from the North-of-France stroke network selected for a mechanical thrombectomy (MT). Patients without contraindication received i.v. rt-PA. We evaluated stroke severity with the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and functional status with the modified Rankin scale (mRS), and recorded epileptic seizures occurring between the end of imaging and day 7. We performed statistics using propensity analyses.

RESULTS

We included 1638 patients (783 men, 47.8%; median age 71 years; median NIHSS score 16; 1007 treated by rt-PA, 61.5%), in whom 60 (3.7%) developed early epileptic seizures. After adjustment on propensity scores, early seizures were associated with infections [adjusted odds ratio (_adjOR) 2.86; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.37-5.95] and delay between stroke recognition and end of MT (_adjOR 1.04 for 10 min more; 95% CI 1.01-1.08), but not with rt-PA (_adjOR 1.35; 95% CI 0.55-3.33). The propensity-matched analysis of 343 pairs of patients found no difference in the occurrence of early seizures between those with and without rt-PA (p = 0.386).

CONCLUSION

We found no significant association between rt-PA and early epileptic seizures. If rt-PA has the potential for epileptogenicity, the magnitude of the effect should be modest compared to its favourable effect on functional outcome.

Clinical and magnetic resonance imaging predictors of very early neurological response to intravenous thrombolysis in patients with middle cerebral artery occlusion

Background

The early identification of patients who are unlikely to respond to intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (IV‐tPA) could help select candidates for additional intra‐arterial therapy or add‐on antithrombotic drugs during the acute stage of stroke. Given that very early neurological improvement (VENI) is a reliable surrogate of early recanalization, we assessed the clinical and magnetic resonance imaging predictors of lack of VENI.

Methods and Results

We reviewed consecutive ischemic stroke patients with middle cerebral artery occlusion and treated within 4.5 hours by IV‐tPA between 2003 and 2012 in our center, where magnetic resonance imaging is systematically implemented as first‐line diagnostic workup. Lack of VENI was defined as a <40% decrease in baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score 1 hour after start of IV‐tPA. Poor outcome was defined as a 3‐month modified Rankin scale ≥2. Associations between lack of VENI and potential determinants were assessed in logistic regression models. In all, 186 patients were included (median baseline NIHSS score, 16; median onset to treatment time, 155 minutes). One hundred forty‐three patients (77%) had no VENI. The variables significantly associated with lack of VENI in multivariable analysis were baseline NIHSS (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.16 per 1‐point increase; P=0.03), onset to treatment time >120 minutes (OR, 2.94; 95% CI, 1.31 to 6.63; P=0.009) and diffusion weighted imaging—Alberta Stroke Programme Early CT Score ≤5 (OR, 3.60; 95% CI, 1.14 to 11.35; P=0.03). Patients without VENI were more likely to have a modified Rankin Scale ≥2 than those without VENI (68% versus 24%; OR, 5.01; 95% CI, 2.12 to 11.82) and less likely to have recanalization after 24 hours (OR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.19 to 0.88).

Conclusions

Lack of VENI provides an early estimate of 3‐month outcome and recanalization after IV‐tPA. Baseline NIHSS, onset to treatment time, and diffusion weighted imaging—Alberta Stroke Programme Early CT Score could help to predict lack of VENI and, in turn, might help early selection of candidates for complementary reperfusion strategies.