Stroke- on- Awakening: Safety of CT-CTA Based Selection for Reperfusion Therapy

Efficacy and safety of rt-PA intravenous thrombolysis in patients with wake-up stroke: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

: Recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) is one of the most effective therapies for patients with acute ischemic stroke. However, wake-up stroke (WUS) is typically excluded from intravenous thrombolytic therapy because of the unclear time of symptom onset. Therefore, we aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of rt-PA intravenous thrombolysis in patients with WUS by meta-analysis.

METHODS

: We completed a systematic literature search of PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and SinoMed and included relevant studies of WUS patients covering rt-PA thrombolysis and nonthrombolysis (published from January 1, 2000, to February 28, 2021, with no language restrictions). The primary outcomes included safety outcomes and functional outcomes. Safety outcomes were measured according to the incidence of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage and mortality within 90 days. The efficacy outcomes were measured based on 90-day modified Rankin Scale scores. We assessed pooled data using either a random-effects model (when P < .10, I2 > 50%) or a fixed-effects model (when P > .10, I2 < 50%).

RESULTS

: A total of 913 patients from 9 studies were included in the meta-analysis. All patients had ischemic stroke confirmed by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. The incidence of modified Rankin Scale 0 to 2 was significantly higher in the rt-PA thrombolysis group compared with the nonthrombolysis group. And rt-PA thrombolytic WUS patients did not differ significantly from nonthrombolytic WUS patients in terms of 90-day mortality. However, the incidence of Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was also significantly higher in the rt-PA thrombolysis group than that in the nonthrombolysis group.

CONCLUSIONS

: Patients with WUS who received rt-PA thrombolysis had a significant positive effect within 90 days. In addition, although there was no significant increase in mortality, we need to be aware of the risk of intracranial hemorrhage transformation associated with rt-PA thrombolysis despite no obvious increase in mortality. The safety of rt-PA intravenous thrombolysis should be closely monitored in patients with WUS.

Time to Wake-Up: Extending the Window for Management of Unknown-Onset Strokes

The term "Wake-Up Stroke" is applied to a patient who displays no symptoms before sleep, but wakes with neurologic deficits suggestive of stroke. The current guidelines for acute ischemic stroke limit intravenous tissue plasminogen activator use to stroke patients in whom symptom onset or last known well is less than 4.5 hours. Approximately one-third of acute ischemic stroke patients present with unknown time of symptom onset and are often not eligible for intravenous reperfusion therapy in clinical practice. This review provides an overview of several earlier trials that used advanced neuroimaging to determine eligibility for reperfusion therapy in patients with unknown stroke onset. The reassuring results of these earlier trials that led to recent thrombolysis trials specifically targeted at "wake-up stroke" patients are discussed in this review. Ongoing studies aim to expand our knowledge regarding the safety and efficacy of thrombolysis in these patients.

Safety of intravenous thrombolysis in stroke of unknown time of onset: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The safety of intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV-tPA) in patients with stroke of unknown time of onset (SUTO) was unclear and mostly concerned. We sought to investigate the safety in terms of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) and death in SUTO patients treated with IV-tPA. We searched PubMed and EMBASE from inception to 2 December 2020 for eligible studies reporting IV-tPA in SUTO patients compared to conservative medical therapy, or to stroke of known onset time (SKOT) treated with IV-tPA within standard time window. We pooled relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval (95%CI) with random-effects model. Twenty-four studies were included, enrolling 77,398 patients. SUTO patients with IV-tPA had higher incidence of sICH than that in SUTO patients without IV-tPA (3.8% versus 0.96%; RR = 3.75, 95%CI: 2.69-5.22) but comparable to that in SKOT patients with IV-tPA (3.8% versus 4.1%; RR = 1.16, 95%CI: 0.94-1.44). There was no significant difference in death risk in SUTO patients with IV-tPA versus SUTO patients without IV-tPA (RR = 1.34, 95%CI: 0.60-3.01) and versus SKOT patients with IV-tPA (RR = 1.19, 95%CI: 0.95-1.50). Compared with SUTO patients without IV-tPA, SUTO patients with IV-tPA had higher likelihood of favorable functional outcome (adjusted RR = 1.28, 95%CI: 1.03-1.60) and functional independence (adjusted RR = 1.95, 95%CI: 1.24-3.06), comparable to that in SKOT patients with IV-tPA in favorable functional outcome (adjusted RR = 0.67, 95%CI: 0.38-1.20) and functional independence (adjusted RR = 0.84, 95%CI: 0.59-1.18). SUTO patients could be treated safely and effectively with IV-tPA under the guidance of imaging evaluation.

Non-Contrast CT and CT-Angiogram for Late Window Ischemic Stroke Treatment Selection

INTRODUCTION

The benefit of late window endovascular treatment (EVT) for anterior circulation ischemic stroke has been demonstrated using perfusion-based neuroimaging. We evaluated whether non-contrast CT (NCCT) and CT-angiogram (CTA) alone can select late-presenting patients for EVT.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective comparison of all patients undergoing EVT at a single comprehensive stroke center from January 2016 to April 2017. Patients planned for EVT were divided into early (<6 hours from onset) and late (≥6 hours from onset or last time seen normal) window groups. Incidence of symptomatic hemorrhagic transformations (sHTs) at 24 hours and 3-month modified Rankin scores (mRSs) were compared.

RESULTS

During the study period, 204 (82%) patients underwent EVT in the early and 44 (18%) in the late window. Median (interquartile range) NIH Stroke Scale Score was similar between groups (early: 18 [15-23] vs. late: 17 [13-21]), as were median ASPECT scores (early: 9 [8-10] vs. late: 9 [7-9]). In the late window, 42 (95%) strokes were of unknown onset. Similar proportions of sHT occurred at 24 hours (early: 12 [6%] vs. late: 4 [9%], p = 0.43). At 3 months, the proportion of patients achieving functional independence (mRS 0-2) were comparable in the early (80/192 [42%]) and late (16/41 [39%]) windows (p = 0.76).

CONCLUSION

NCCT- and CTA-based patient selection led to similar functional independence outcomes and low proportions of sHT in the early and late windows. In centers without access to perfusion-based neuroimaging, this pragmatic approach could be safe, particularly for strokes of unknown onset.

Efficacy and Safety of Intravenous Thrombolysis in Patients with Unknown Onset Stroke: A Meta-Analysis

Objectives

Unknown onset stroke (UOS) is usually excluded from intravenous thrombolysis concerning the unclear symptom onset time. Attempts have been done to use thrombolytic therapy in these patients. The current meta-analysis was done to examine the efficacy and safety of intravenous thrombolysis in UOS.

Methods

PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched for studies comparing thrombolysis with conservative therapy among UOSs. Data of good outcome (mRS, 0-2), mortality, and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and symptomatic ICH (sICH) were extracted and analyzed using the Revman 5.2 software.

Results

In total, 8 studies with 1271 subjects (542 with thrombolysis and 729 with conservative therapy) were included in this meta-analysis. The data showed that patients receiving thrombolysis had a higher incidence of 90-day good outcome (P = 0.0005) than conservative therapy. The comparison of discharge (P = 0.89) and 90-day mortality (P = 0.10) in both groups did not find any significances. The incidences of ICH (P = 0.42) and sICH (P = 0.06) were relatively comparable between the two therapies.

Conclusions

Intravenous thrombolysis is a better choice for UOS patients for its efficacy and safety. In addition, pretreatment imaging assessment is beneficial for improving the efficacy of thrombolytic therapy. However, it needs more supporting evidences for clinical use in the future.

Thrombolytic Therapy in Wake-Up Stroke Patients

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study is to review existing and ongoing trial data on wake-up stroke (WUS) patients for thrombolytic therapy.

METHODS

A literature search was conducted in PubMed (conception-October 2016) using the terms wake-up stroke, acute ischemic stroke, wake-up thrombolysis, computed tomography imaging in wake-up stroke, and magnetic resonance imaging in wake-up stroke. Ongoing trials were found using the ClinicalTrials.gov website.

RESULTS

The search yielded 61 articles in PubMed and 7 ongoing trials. After removing duplicate/irrelevant articles, 33 articles and relevant references were reviewed; of these, 6 articles and 3 ongoing trials were included. Two retrospective studies evaluating the characteristics between WUS and known-onset stroke were identified; the only significant difference between groups was the ability to receive treatment with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). One study suggested that perfusion brain imaging may be useful to identify patients that may benefit from tPA. In addition, 3 studies have evaluated WUS treatment; all used different methods to identify potential patients. Two of 3 studies showed that treatment with tPA is associated with better outcomes when controlling for baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale. No difference in safety outcomes was seen between groups for all 3 studies.

CONCLUSIONS

Available data suggest promising strategies to identify WUS patients who may benefit from thrombolysis. Once on-going trials are complete, there may be sufficient information to redefine tPA eligibility for previously excluded patients.

Time for a Time Window Extension: Insights from Late Presenters in the ESCAPE Trial

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The safety and efficacy of endovascular therapy for large-artery stroke in the extended time window is not yet well-established. We performed a subgroup analysis on subjects enrolled within an extended time window in the Endovascular Treatment for Small Core and Proximal Occlusion Ischemic Stroke (ESCAPE) trial.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fifty-nine of 315 subjects (33 in the intervention group and 26 in the control group) were randomized in the ESCAPE trial between 5.5 and 12 hours after last seen healthy (likely to have groin puncture administered 6 hours after that). Treatment effect sizes for all relevant outcomes (90-day mRS shift, mRS 0-2, mRS 0-1, and 24-hour NIHSS scores and intracerebral hemorrhage) were reported using unadjusted and adjusted analyses.

RESULTS

There was no evidence of treatment heterogeneity between subjects in the early and late windows. Treatment effect favoring intervention was seen across all clinical outcomes in the extended time window (absolute risk difference of 19.3% for mRS 0-2 at 90 days). There were more asymptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage events within the intervention arm (48.5% versus 11.5%, P = .004) but no difference in symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with an extended time window could potentially benefit from endovascular treatment. Ongoing randomized controlled trials using imaging to identify late presenters with favorable brain physiology will help cement the paradigm of using time windows to select the population for acute imaging and imaging to select individual patients for therapy.