Safety and efficacy of endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke of large-vessel occlusion beyond the time window based on imaging evaluation.

Purpose: Endovascular treatment (EVT) of acute ischemic stroke caused by large-vessel occlusion (AIS-LVO) over 24 h of onset remains controversial. This study was to explore the safety and efficacy of EVT for patients with AIS-LVO between 24 and 72 h of symptom onset after rigorous imaging evaluation.

Methods: Patients with AIS-LVO treated with EVT were retrospectively enrolled and divided into two groups according to the time from symptom onset to groin puncture: 64 in the over-time group (>24 h) and 257 in the within-time group (≤24 h). Outcomes included 3-month modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score, functional independence (defined as mRS 0-2), successful cerebral reperfusion, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH), and 3-month mortality.

Results: Patients in the over-time group had no significant differences in the functional independence (40.6% vs 42.5%, odds ratio or OR 0.91, 95% confidence interval or CI 0.52-1.60,  = 0.753), successful reperfusion (96.7% vs 95.8%, OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.36-1.59,  = 0.467), sICH (8.3% vs 6.7%, OR 1.20, 95% CI 0.42-3.38,  = 0.735), 3-month mortality (13.3% vs 10.8%, OR 1.17, 95% CI 0.51-2.70,  = 0.716) compared with patients in the within-time group. After matching adjustment, the results did not change significantly.

Conclusions: The safety and effectiveness of EVT treatment for selected AIS-LVO patients with symptom onset of 24-72 h are not inferior to those treated within 6-24 h of onset, especially in a short term based on the pre-treatment advanced neuroimaging computed tomography perfusion even though further investigations are necessary to prove this finding.