Medical Management Versus Endovascular Treatment for Large-Vessel Occlusion Anterior Circulation Stroke With Low NIHSS.

Background: Endovascular treatment (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients presenting with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of 0 to 5 is common in clinical practice but has not yet been proven safe and effective. Our objective is to assess whether EVT on top of best medical treatment (BMT) in AIS patients with large-vessel occlusion of the anterior circulation presenting with mild symptoms is beneficial compared with BMT.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, SCOPUS, and reference lists of retrieved articles published until December 28, 2022. A systematic literature search was conducted to identify clinical trials or observational cohort studies evaluating patients with AIS due to anterior circulation large-vessel occlusion and admission National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score ≤5 treated with EVT versus BMT alone. The primary outcome was excellent functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale score 0-1) at 3 months. The protocol had been registered before data collection (PROSPERO).

Results: Eleven observational eligible studies were included in the meta-analysis, comprising a total of 2019 AIS patients with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score ≤5 treated with EVT versus 3171 patients treated with BMT. EVT was not associated with excellent functional outcome (risk ratio, 1.10 [95% CI, 0.93-1.31]). When stratified for different study design (per-protocol versus intention-to-treat), there were no significant subgroup differences. EVT was not associated with good functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale score 0-2; risk ratio, 1.01 [95% CI, 0.89-1.16]) or reduced disability at 3 months (common odds ratio, 0.92 [95% CI, 0.60-1.41]). Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was more common in the patients receiving EVT (risk ratio, 3.53 [95% CI, 2.35-5.31]). No correlation was found between EVT and mortality at 3 months (risk ratio, 1.34 [95% CI, 0.83-2.18]). The same overall associations were confirmed in the sensitivity analysis of studies that performed propensity score matching.

Conclusions: EVT appears equivalent to BMT for patients with anterior circulation large-vessel occlusion AIS with low baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, despite the increased risk for symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage.

Registration: URL: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/; Unique identifier: CRD42022334417.