Incidence, predictors, and outcomes of post-thrombectomy seizures in the extended time window

Incidence and association of seizures in stroke patients following endovascular treatment: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Post-stroke seizures (PSSs) are some of the most common complications of stroke and are associated with poor outcomes in patients. Endovascular treatment (EVT) is the standard of care for patients with acute ischaemic stroke related large-vessel occlusion. However, whether EVT increases the risk of PSSs remains controversial; the association between PSSs and EVT is poorly understood.

METHODS

PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library were searched for relevant studies published from 1995 to 6 December 2021. The overall incidence of PSSs in patients treated with EVT and the separate incidence for all included studies in each subgroup, stratified by the type of treatment or time of onset, were calculated. The pooled odds ratio and confidence interval were calculated to quantify the effects of EVT on PSS occurrence.

RESULTS

In all, 946 studies were screened and 16 articles were included, with a total sample size of 12,664 patients; 7836 patients received EVT, of whom 460 had PSS. The pooled incidence of PSS after EVT was 5.8%, which was similar to patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy (5.3%), intra-arterial thrombolysis (6.8%) or bridging therapy (5.4%). The cumulative incidence of post-stroke epilepsy (6.0%) was almost twice that of acute symptomatic seizures (3.6%). The pooled odds ratio for the relationship between EVT and PSS was 1.91 (95% confidence interval 0.98-3.73).

CONCLUSIONS

The cumulative incidence of stroke patients treated with EVT who developed seizures was 5.8%, and EVT was non-significantly associated with the occurrence of seizures after stroke.

Effect of Reperfusion Therapies on Incidence of Early Post-Stroke Seizures

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of reperfusion therapies on the occurrence of early post-stroke seizures (PSS) in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Background: Reperfusion therapies are paramount to the treatment of stroke in the acute phase. However, their effect on the incidence of early seizures after an AIS remains unclear. Design and Methods: The stroke database at Hamad Medical Corporation was used to identify all patients who received reperfusion therapies for AIS from 2016 to 2019. They were matched with patients of similar diagnosis, gender, age, and stroke severity as measured by National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) who did not receive such treatment. The rates of early PSS were calculated for each group. Results: The results showed that 508 patients received reperfusion therapies (342 had IV thrombolysis only, 70 had thrombectomies only, and 96 had received both), compared with 501 matched patients receiving standard stroke unit care. Patients who received reperfusion therapies were similar to their matched controls for mean admission NIHSS score (9.87 vs. 9.79; p = 0.831), mean age (53.3 vs. 53.2 years; p = 0.849), and gender distribution (85 vs. 86% men; p = 0.655). The group receiving reperfusion therapies was found to have increased stroke cortical involvement (62 vs. 49.3%, p < 0.001) and hemorrhagic transformation rates (33.5 vs. 18.6%, p < 0.001) compared with the control group. The rate of early PSS was significantly lower in patients who received reperfusion therapies compared with those who did not (3.1 vs. 5.8%, respectively; p = 0.042). When we excluded seizures occurring at stroke onset prior to any potential treatment implementation, the difference in early PSS rates between the two groups was no longer significant (2.6 vs. 3.9%, respectively; p = 0.251). There was no significant difference in early PSS rate based on the type of reperfusion therapy either (3.2% with thrombolysis, 2.9% with thrombectomy, and 3.1% for the combined treatment, p = 0.309). Conclusions: Treatment of AIS with either thrombectomy, thrombolysis, or both does not increase the risk of early PSS.