Clinical characteristics and therapeutic process of the study population
| Clinical characteristic | With VWCs (n=22) | Without VWCs (n=79) | P values |
| Age (years) (mean±SD) | 74.7±13.7 | 75.0±10.4 | 0.62 |
| Women | 12 (55) | 35 (44) | 0.39 |
| Diabetes | 4 (18) | 17 (22) | 1.00 |
| History of hypertension | 17 (77) | 49 (63) | 0.21 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 14 (64) | 53 (68) | 0.70 |
| Current smoker | 6 (30) | 34 (53) | 0.07 |
| Baseline NIHSS score | 15.5 (10.8–22.3) | 20.0 (14.0–26.0) | 0.14 |
| Intravenous rt-PA | 7 (32) | 34 (43) | 0.34 |
| Location of occlusion | 0.54 | ||
| ICA | 10 (45) | 28 (35) | |
| MCA M1 | 6 (27) | 28 (35) | |
| MCA M2 or more distal | 5 (23) | 13 (16) | |
| VA/BA | 1 (5) | 10 (13) | |
| Stroke subtype | 0.38 | ||
| Large artery atherosclerosis | 3 (14) | 8 (10) | |
| Cardioembolic | 15 (68) | 64 (81) | |
| Other/unknown | 4 (18) | 7 (9) | |
| Device reaching distally* | 17 (77) | 44 (56) | 0.07 |
| No of device passages | 2 (1–5) | 2 (1–3) | 0.08 |
| mTICI ≥2 b reperfusion | 16 (73) | 70 (89) | 0.06 |
| Intracranial hemorrhage | 10 (45) | 27 (35) | 0.35 |
| Subarachnoid hemorrhage | 5 (23) | 12 (15) | 0.40 |
| Good clinical outcome | 7 (32) | 37 (47) | 0.21 |
Values are n (%) or median (IQR).
P values calculated by Fisher’s exact test for categorical data and the Mann–Whitney U test for continuous data.
*Distal sites where devices reached were defined as the M2 portion of the middle cerebral artery, the P2 portion of the posterior cerebral artery, or more distal.
BA, basilar artery; ICA, internal carotid artery; MCA, middle cerebral artery; MTICI, modified Treatment in Cerebral Ischemia; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; rt-PA, recombinant tissue plasminogen activator; VA, vertebral artery; VWCs, vascular wall components.