Baseline characteristics of patients treated with aspiration or stent retriever
| Characteristics | Aspiration (n=207) | Stent retriever (n=968) | P values |
| Demographics | |||
| Age, median (IQR) | 68.50 (54–77) | 69 (57–78) | 0.50 |
| Male, n (%) | 112 (54) | 516 (53) | 0.89 |
| NIHSS baseline, median (IQR) | 16 (12–21) | 16 (12–19) | 0.59 |
| Pre-stroke mRS, n (%) | 0.02 | ||
| 0 | 119 (59) | 663 (70) | |
| 1 | 29 (14) | 116 (12) | |
| 2 | 24 (12) | 64 (7) | |
| >2 | 29 (14) | 110 (12) | |
| Medical history, n (%) | |||
| Previous stroke | 31 (15) | 162 (17) | 0.62 |
| Myocardial infarction | 37 (19) | 151 (16) | 0.39 |
| Peripheral arterial disease | 17 (9) | 85 (9) | 0.99 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 38 (19) | 224 (23) | 0.21 |
| Cardiovascular risk factors, n (%) | |||
| Hypertension | 99 (48) | 495 (52) | 0.33 |
| Hypercholesterolemia | 67 (34) | 279 (30) | 0.32 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 27 (13) | 168 (18) | 0.15 |
| Smoking | 47 (23) | 226 (24) | 0.97 |
| Medication, n (%) | |||
| Antiplatelet use | 77 (38) | 313 (33) | 0.19 |
| Coumadin | 20 (10) | 137 (14) | 0.10 |
| Statin | 68 (34) | 346 (37) | 0.46 |
| Stroke characteristics, n (%) | |||
| IVT | 156 (75) | 741 (77) | 0.73 |
| Level of occlusion, n (%) | 0.02 | ||
| ICA intracranial | 51 (25) | 272 (28) | |
| M1 proximal | 51 (25) | 246 (26) | |
| M1 distal | 56 (29) | 309 (33) | |
| M2 | 29 (15) | 96 (10) | |
| M3 | 3 (2) | 6 (1) | |
| A1 | 0 (0) | 2 (0.2) | |
| A2 | 1 (0.5) | 1 (0.1) | |
| ASPECTS subgroups, n (%) | 0.91 | ||
| 0–4 | 12 (6) | 64 (7) | |
| 5–7 | 50 (25) | 235 (25) | |
| 8–10 | 137 (69) | 633 (68) | |
| Collaterals, n (%) | 0.83 | ||
| Absent collaterals | 11 (6) | 66 (7) | |
| Filling <50% of occluded area | 62 (33) | 294 (32) | |
| >50% but <100% | 83 (44) | 360 (40) | |
| Filling 100% of the occluded area | 32 (17) | 188 (21) | |
| Workflow, n (%) | |||
| Transfer from primary stroke centre, n (%) | 120 (58) | 527 (54) | 0.40 |
| Onset to IVT, median (IQR) | 25,5 (17–32) | 24 (19–34) | 0.92 |
| Onset to groin (min), median (IQR) | 180 (150–225) | 195 (155–245) | 0.57 |
| Balloon guiding yes, n (%) | 30 (25) | 591 (72) | <0.0001 |
| Local anesthesia only, n (%) | 74 (31) | 621 (61) | <0.0001 |
| Conscious sedation, n (%) | 23 (15) | 128 (15) | 0.99 |
| General anesthesia, n (%) | 110 (54) | 219 (24) | <0.0001 |
Continuous data are presented as mean (SD) for normal distributed data or as median (IQR) for skewed data. P values indicate differences between patients treated with stent retriever and direct aspiration.
Missing values: NIHSS baseline: 26 (2%); pre-stroke mRS: 21 (2%); previous stroke: 7 (0.6%); history myocardial infarction: 20 (2%); history peripheral arterial disease: 25 (2%); history diabetes mellitus: 8 (0.7%); hypertension: 13 (1%); atrial fibrillation: 16 (1%); hypercholesterolemia: 39 (3%); smoking: 276 (24%); antiplatelet therapy: 14 (1%); coumadin use: 8 (0.7%); statin: 25 (2%); IVT: 3 (0.3 %); level of occlusion: 52 (4%); ASPECTS: 44 (4%); collateral score: 79 (7%); conscious sedation: 175 (15%); general anesthesia; 54 (3.5%); balloon guiding: >100.
Time onset to IVT: 524 (45%); duration ER intervention hospital to groin: 366 (31%).
A (segment), middle cerebral artery; ASPECTS, Alberta Stroke Programme Early CT Score; ER, emergency room; EVT, endovascular treatment.; ICA, internal carotid artery; IVT, intravenous thrombolysis; M (segment), middle cerebral artery; mRS, modified Rankin Scale; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale.