Original articleSolitaire FR as a first-line device in acute intracerebral occlusion: A single-centre retrospective analysis
Introduction
Since the 1990s, the use of intravenous (IV) recombinant human tissue plasminogen factor has changed stroke prognosis, but the recanalization rate was still less than 50% [1], [2], [3], [4]. Several devices with different mechanisms of action were produced and designed to achieve mechanical thrombectomy when IV fibrinolysis was not suitable [5], [6], [7], [8]. Solitaire FR (ev3, Irvine CA, United States) was the first stent retriever to be described and used. It seems to allow faster and more effective procedures [9] but it is still very often used as a second-line device when IV fibrinolysis has failed or when the time windows for IV fibrinolysis has been passed. Several single-centre, retrospective studies have been published over the past few years [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], but almost all of them mainly included patients who had experienced IV fibrinolysis failure. In the present study, all of the patients were treated with a Solitaire thrombectomy device. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Solitaire FR especially when used as the only therapy in patients with acute intracerebral occlusion.
Section snippets
Methods
Consecutive patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy were retrospectively analysed in this study. All of them arrived at the hospital within 6 hours after the onset of stroke involving the anterior circulation. The time window was extended to 24 hours for posterior circulation occlusion only if MRI ruled out any extensive brainstem lesion. Each patient was assessed by the on-call senior neurologist and an NIHSS score was ascertained on admission, at discharge and 90 days after treatment.
Patients’ data
Between January 2010 and March 2012, 66 patients with proximal occlusion in an intracranial vessel were eligible for mechanical thrombectomy in our institution. Four were excluded from the present study, one due to an ASPECT CBV score of 5, one had not undergone thrombectomy because of major problems with catheterization, and two for lack of data.
Sixty-two patients were retrospectively included and analysed in the present study. The mean age was 64.9 years old (SD = 17.1). The youngest was 16
Discussion
The Modified Rankin score at 3 months was lower than or equal to 2 in 40.3% of our patients even though revascularization was unsuccessful in 16 patients. These results are similar to those in other studies [10], [11], [12], [13], [16], [17], [18], [19], which reported 33 to 50% of patients with a good clinical outcome at 3 months (mRS 0-2). However, unlike patients in these studies, most of our patients (75.8%) did not have IV fibrinolysis.
The present study aimed to reflect the use of
Conclusion
Mechanical thrombectomy appears to be a safe and effective first-line therapy in patients with proximal occlusion after appropriate imaging screening. Randomised controlled trials are still needed to confirm these preliminary results.
Disclosure of interest
F.R. is an ev3 consultant. All the others have nothing to disclose.
Acknowledgments
Mr Philip Bastable from the medical English department. Mrs Lysiane Jonval from the clinical research department. Mr Ludwig Aho from the epidemiology department.
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