Complications of the endovascular management of acute ischemic stroke

Application Analysis of Multidisciplinary Diagnosis and Treatment Nursing Mode Based on Doctor-Nurse-Integration for Stroke Patients Undergoing Emergency Intervention Surgery

Purpose

To analyze the application value of multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment (MDT) nursing mode based on doctor-nurse-integration for stroke patients undergoing emergency intervention surgery.

Methods

In this study, a historical comparative study method was adopted. 118 stroke patients and medical staff (9 doctors and 11 nurses) who met the diagnosis and inclusion criteria of emergency intervention surgery admitted from July 2021 to February 2022 were treated clinically according to the traditional medical care mode (TMC group), 87 stroke patients and medical staff (9 doctors and 11 nurses) who met the diagnosis and inclusion criteria of emergency intervention surgery admitted from February 2022 to June 2022 were treated and cared according to the MDT nursing mode based on medical integration (MDT group). Comparison of perioperative time indicators, postoperative outcome indicators, treatment compliance, secondary complications and visit satisfaction between the two groups of patients, and comparison of cooperation satisfaction between the two groups of medical staff.

Results

The MDT group had shorter onset-emergency physician's reception time, arrival at CT room-completion time of CT/MR, notify intervention chamber-arrival time at catheter chamber, admission-femoral artery puncture time, admission-first vessel recanalization time, mean postural restraint time than the TMC group (P < 0.05). The postoperative mortality rate in the MDT group (5.75%) was comparable to that in the TMC group (8.47%) (P > 0.05); the postoperative disability rate in the MDT group (28.74%) was less than that in the TMC group (45.76%) (P < 0.05); the NIHSS score in the MDT group was lower than that in the TMC group, and the FMA score and BI score were both higher than those in the TMC group (P < 0.05). The MDT group had higher treatment compliance than the TMC group, fewer secondary complications than the TMC group, and higher patient visit satisfaction and medical staff cooperation satisfaction than the TMC group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The implementation of the MDT nursing mode based on the doctor-nurse-integration for stroke patients undergoing emergency intervention surgery can improve the work efficiency of rescuing patients, improve the clinical treatment outcome of patients, and improve the satisfaction of doctors, nurses, and patients.

Number of Retrieval Attempts Rather Than Procedure Time Is Associated With Risk of Symptomatic Intracranial Hemorrhage

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Background and Purpose:

Endovascular therapy is the standard of care in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke due to large-vessel occlusion. A direct association between the number of device passes and the occurrence of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (SICH) has been suggested. This study represents an in-depth investigation of the hypothesis that >3 retrieval attempts is associated with an increased rate of SICH in a large multicenter patient cohort.

Methods:

Two thousand six hundred eleven patients from the prospective German Stroke Registry were analyzed. Patients who received Endovascular therapy for acute large-vessel occlusion of the anterior circulation with known admission National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale and Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score, final Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction, and number of retrieval passes were included. The primary outcome was defined as SICH. The secondary outcome was any type of radiologically confirmed intracranial hemorrhage within the first 24 hours. Multivariate mixed-effects models were used to adjust for cluster effects of the participating centers, as well as for confounders.

Results:

Five hundred ninety-three patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The median number of retrieval passes was 2 [interquartile range, 1–3]. SICH occurred in 26 cases (4.4%), whereas intracranial hemorrhage was identified by neuroimaging in 85 (14.3%) cases. More than 3 retrieval passes was the strongest predictor for SICH (odds ratio, 3.61 [95% CI, 1.38–9.42], P=0.0089) following adjustment for age, admission National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, admission Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score, and Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction, as well as time from symptom onset to flow restoration. Baseline Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score of 8 to 9 (odds ratio, 0.26 [95% CI, 0.07–0.89], P=0.032) or 10 (odds ratio, 0.21 [95% CI, 0.06–0.78], P=0.020) were significant protective factors against the occurrence of SICH.

Conclusions:

More than 3 retrieval attempts is associated with a significant increase in SICH risk, regardless of patient age, baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, or procedure time. This should be considered when deciding whether to continue a procedure, especially in patients with large baseline infarctions.

Registration:

URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT03356392.

Post-thrombectomy intracranial blooming artifact

Mechanical thrombectomy is a procedure used for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke in patients with large vessel occlusions. Usually with a low complication rate, we present a case with a complication post-thrombectomy not previously described in the literature noted on imaging as "blooming artifact".

Neuroprotective mechanisms of erythropoietin in a rat stroke model

Objective

This study was designed to investigate the indirect neuroprotective properties of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) pretreatment in a rat model of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO).

Methods

One hundred and ten male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to four groups receiving either 5,000 IU/kg rhEPO intravenously or saline 15 minutes prior to MCAO and bilateral craniectomy or sham craniectomy. Bilateral craniectomy aimed at elimination of the space-consuming effect of postischemic edema. Diagnostic workup included neurological examination, assessment of infarct size and cerebral edema by magnetic resonance imaging, wet–dry technique, and quantification of hemispheric and local cerebral blood flow (CBF) by flat-panel volumetric computed tomography.

Results

In the absence of craniectomy, EPO pretreatment led to a significant reduction in infarct volume (34.83 ± 9.84% vs. 25.28 ± 7.03%; p = 0.022) and midline shift (0.114 ± 0.023 cm vs. 0.083 ± 0.027 cm; p = 0.013). We observed a significant increase in regional CBF in cortical areas of the ischemic infarct (72.29 ± 24.00% vs. 105.53 ± 33.10%; p = 0.043) but not the whole hemispheres. Infarct size-independent parameters could not demonstrate a statistically significant reduction in cerebral edema with EPO treatment.

Conclusions

Single-dose pretreatment with rhEPO 5,000 IU/kg significantly reduces ischemic lesion volume and increases local CBF in penumbral areas of ischemia 24 h after transient MCAO in rats. Data suggest indirect neuroprotection from edema and the resultant pressure-reducing and blood flow-increasing effects mediated by EPO.

Predicting Death After Thrombectomy in the Treatment of Acute Stroke

Introduction: Treatments for acute stroke have significantly improved in the past decade, with emergent thrombectomy emerging as the standard of care. Despite these advancements, death after successful thrombectomy continues to pose a significant problem. Identifying patients least likely to benefit from thrombectomy would improve use of a limited resource and management of patient expectations.

Method: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who underwent emergent thrombectomy of either anterior or posterior circulation strokes between January 2012 and January 2017. Relevant patient clinical data was collected and analyzed in a multivariable regression with a primary outcome of death at 90 days.

Results: A total of 134 patients underwent emergent endovascular thrombectomy during the study period; sufficient clinical data was available in 111 of the them. Of these, 42 patients died during the 90 day post-procedural period and 69 patients survived this period. The mean NIHSS score at presentation was 14.9 in surviving patients and 19.6 in non-surviving patients (p < 0.002). Surviving patients were less likely to have a history of cancer (4.4% vs. 26.2%, p < 0.002), achieved higher rates of revascularization (78.3% vs. 50.0%, p < 0.003), had a lower rate of hemorrhagic conversion (21.7% vs. 47.6%, p < 0.004), and experienced fewer technical complications during their treatment (7.4% vs. 26.2%, p < 0.01). Overall, there were 16 intraprocedural complications and no procedural deaths.

Conclusion: As emergent thrombectomy for the treatment of acute stroke becomes more prevalent, appropriate patient selection will be crucial in the utilization of a limited and costly intervention. Death within 90 days after thrombectomy appears to be more prevalent among patients with higher NIHSS at presentation, those with postprocedural hemorrhage or intraprocedural complications, and those with a history of cancer.

There Is No Association Between the Number of Stent Retriever Passes and the Incidence of Hemorrhagic Transformation for Patients Undergoing Mechanical Thrombectomy

Background: Previous research has focused on the association between hemorrhagic transformation (HT) incidence and pre-procedural variables (i.e., baseline variables) rather than the association between HT incidence and endovascular treatment (EVT) procedural variables (e.g., stent retriever passes).

Objective: To assess the association, if any, that exists between the number of stent retriever passes per procedure and the incidence of HT for patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy.

Methods: An endovascular database from a comprehensive stroke center was used to collect data on EVT patients treated with Trevo, Solitaire, or Penumbra stent retrievers from the years 2012 to 2017. Statistical analyses were conducted on the stent retriever passes, demographics, morbidities, medication usage, and outcomes and their association with HT.

Results: Of the 329 total patients, 46 (14%) had HT. The HT group had an average [SD] of 1.65 [0.67] and range of [1–3] passes per procedure while the non-HT group had an average [SD] of 1.63 [0.86] and range of [1–5] passes per procedure. Admission NIHSS score (p = 0.0003) and the incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM) (p = 0.05) were significantly higher in the HT group. Subdividing HT into symptomatic and asymptomatic ICH groups failed to display significant differences in the distribution of the stent retriever passes (p = 0.969). The number of passes failed to show any association with HT (p = 0.804) while admission NIHSS score was found to have an OR of 1.07 (95%CI: 1.029–1.121, p = 0.001) with HT incidence.

Conclusion: No significant association was found between HT incidence and the stent retriever passes. Further multicenter studies are warranted to corroborate our results.

Paradigm Shift to Neuroimmunomodulation for Translational Neuroprotection in Stroke

The treatment of acute ischemic stroke is still an unresolved clinical problem since the only approved therapeutic intervention relies on early blood flow restoration through pharmacological thrombolysis, mechanical thrombus removal, or a combination of both strategies. Due to their numerous complications and to the narrow time-window for the intervention, only a minority of stroke patients can actually benefit from revascularization procedures, highlighting the urgent need of identifying novel strategies to prevent the progression of an irreversible damage in the ischemic penumbra. During the past three decades, the attempts to target the pathways implicated in the ischemic cascade (e.g., excitotoxicity, calcium channels overactivation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production) have failed in the clinical setting. Based on a better understanding of the pathobiological mechanisms and on a critical reappraisal of most failed trials, numerous findings from animal studies have demonstrated that targeting the immune system may represent a promising approach to achieve neuroprotection in stroke. In particular, given the dualistic role of distinct components of both the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system, a strategic intervention should be aimed at establishing the right equilibrium between inflammatory and reparative mechanisms, taking into consideration their spatio-temporal recruitment after the ischemic insult. Thus, the application of immunomodulatory drugs and their ability to ameliorate outcomes deserve validation in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Cross-circulation thrombectomy with use of a stent retriever: A case report

Introduction The efficacy of the endovascular treatment of acute ischemic stroke has been substantiated by several recent randomized clinical trials. While intra-arterial therapy has significantly evolved in recent years, anatomic cerebrovascular variants and disease burden can present challenges to timely recanalization. We present the first reported case of anterior-to-posterior mechanical clot retrieval with use of a stent retriever. Case description A 53-year-old man presented with basilar artery thrombosis. Endovascular mechanical clot retrieval was performed. The typical, antegrade, access to the basilar artery thrombus was precluded by the findings of a hypoplastic left vertebral artery and an occluded proximal right vertebral artery. Given a number of factors including the patient's worsening symptoms and the high morbidity and mortality associated with basilar stroke, cross-circulation-anterior-to-posterior-intra-arterial therapy was performed. Thrombectomy of the basilar thrombus was achieved via the right internal carotid artery and right posterior communicating artery. Conclusion To our knowledge, we report the first case of cross-circulation, anterior-to-posterior thrombectomy, with the use of a stent-retriever device. Cross-circulation stroke treatment may be beneficial in cases of proximal vessel occlusion or anatomical constraints. Larger studies will need to evaluate the safety and efficacy of these approaches.

Risk of Intracranial Hemorrhage after Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Intracranial hemorrhage is a major complication of endovascular treatment in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Controlled clinical trials reported varied incidences of intracranial hemorrhage after endovascular treatment. This meta-analysis aimed to estimate whether endovascular treatment, compared with medical treatment, increases the risk of intracranial hemorrhage in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

METHODS

The current publications on endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke were systematically reviewed. Rates of intracranial hemorrhage after endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke reported in controlled clinical trials were pooled and analyzed. Random and fixed-effect models were used to pool the outcomes. For analyzing their individual risks, intracranial hemorrhages after endovascular treatment were classified as symptomatic and asymptomatic.

RESULTS

Eleven studies involving 1,499 patients with endovascular treatment and 1,320 patients with medical treatment were included. After pooling the data, the risk of any intracranial hemorrhage was significantly higher in patients with endovascular treatment than in patients with medical treatment (35.0 vs. 19.0%, OR = 2.55, 95% CI: 1.64-3.97, p < 0.00001). The risk of asymptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was also significantly higher in patients with endovascular treatment than in those with medical treatment (28 vs. 12%, OR = 3.16, 95% CI: 1.62-6.16, p < 0.001). However, the risks of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage were similar in patients with endovascular treatment and in those with medical treatment (5.6 vs. 5.2%, OR = 1.09, 95% CI: 0.79-1.50, p = 0.61).

CONCLUSION

Although the risk of any intracranial hemorrhage may increase after endovascular treatment, the risk of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage may remain similar as compared with medical treatment.