Original article
Solitaire FR as a first-line device in acute intracerebral occlusion: A single-centre retrospective analysis

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurad.2013.10.002Get rights and content

Summary

Introduction

Analysing the clinical and angiographical effectiveness of the Solitaire FR as a mechanical thrombectomy device in acute intracerebral occlusion.

Methods

Sixty-two patients were retrospectively included between January 2010 and March 2012. All of them underwent mechanical thrombectomy with the Solitaire FR device with or without intravenous thrombolysis. Twenty-five patients had an occlusion of the basilar artery, 1 had a posterior cerebral artery occlusion. There were 16 M1 middle cerebral artery occlusions, 9 carotid T occlusions and 11 tandem occlusions. Clinical status was evaluated using the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) before and 24 hours after treatment and at discharge. The Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) was evaluated at 3 months.

Results

Mean age of patients was 64.8 years. Mean NIHSS score on admission was 19.8. Stand-alone thrombectomy was used in 47 patients (75.8%). Recanalization was successful (TICI score 2b or 3) in 23 of 26 (88.5%) patients with posterior circulation occlusion and in 23 of 36 (63.9%) patients with anterior circulation occlusion. NIHSS improved by more than 10 points for 15 of 59 patients with initial NIHSS over 10. MRS was 0-2 in 25 of 62 patients (40.3%). Overall, 23 patients out of 62 died (37%). No complications related to the Solitaire device occurred.

Conclusion

These results confirm that the Solitaire FR device is safe and effective in stand-alone thrombectomy.

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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