The Good Clinical Outcome for Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke Treated with Mechanical Thrombectomy—Does Time Still Matter?

Abstract

The primary target was an investigation of the factors predicting a good clinical outcome of patients with acute ischemic stroke after treatment with mechanical thrombectomy. Additionally, we compared the treatment results in known and unknown symptom onset time groups. We retrospectively analyzed the data from 2012 to 2020 and divided 240 patients into the known and unknown symptom onset time groups. We looked for the variables predicting a good clinical outcome (NIHSS 0–4 at discharge) in both groups. In both groups, there was no statistically significant difference in good clinical outcomes (43% in the known symptom onset time group vs. 33.3% in the unknown symptom onset time group, p = 0.203). Factors predicting a good clinical outcome in both groups were lower NIHSS scores at admission, the presentation of pial arterial collaterals on admission CT angiography, and bridging intravenous thrombolysis. In the known symptom onset time group, lower age was also a factor predicting good outcome. Our clinical results of treatment by using mechanical thrombectomy were comparable in the known and unknown symptom onset time groups.

Keywords

• thrombectomy
• stroke
• outcome
• predictors
• CT angiography
• symptom onset