EVT valuable in patients requiring transit to stroke centers

In this study, the researchers conducted a subgroup analysis using data from a recently completed clinical trial that compared EVT to standard medical management at 31 centers across North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. In the trial, hospitals without neurointerventional teams transferred participating patients to EVT-capable centers. The group culled data on these patients and assessed EVT treatment effects, as well as associations between transfer times and neuroimaging changes. Out of 352 enrolled patients (median age, 66.5 years old), a total of 211 patients were transfers, of whom 108 (51.2%) received EVT, while 141 patients presented directly, of whom 72 (51.1%) received EVT. All patients had a large ischemic core diagnosed by either noncontrast CT and/or CT perfusion or MRI diffusion-perfusion imaging within 24 hours of the time they were last known well. The median transfer time for patients was 178 (136-230) minutes. According to the analysis, both directly presenting and transferred patients had better clinical outcomes after 90 days with EVT compared with medical management, the authors wrote. Specifically for transfer patients, they found the benefits of EVT favored patients with low Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Scores (ASPECTS), a CT scoring system for identifying early tissue damage. However, the association of EVT with better functional outcomes was numerically better in patients presenting directly to EVT-capable centers, the group added. ...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Interventional Source Type: news