• Chi-Ju Lu, Yen-Heng Lin, Hai-Jui Chu, Sung-Chun Tang, and Chung-Wei Lee.
• Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital Yunlin Branch, Yunlin County, Taiwan; Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
• J Formos Med Assoc. 2021 Jan 1; 120 (1 Pt 3): 705-712.

BackgroundThe transbrachial approach (TBA) is an alternative method to the transfemoral approach (TFA). We herein aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the TBA for endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) in patients with acute large vessel occlusion stroke.MethodsWe reviewed the records of 297 patients who had undergone EVT from January 2015 to July 2019. Eighteen patients who had undergone 19 procedures were included. Indications for arterial access, devices, recanalization rates, complication rates, and clinical outcomes were evaluated.ResultsThere were 15 and 4 cases of anterior and posterior circulation stroke, respectively. The mean patient age was 80.1 years. Eight patients were male. The median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score was 18. The total procedure duration tended to be longer when the TBA was used after failure of the TFA (n = 6, 32%, median: 60.5 min) than when the TBA was used as the first treatment approach (n = 13, 68%, median: 22 min). Optimal recanalization (a modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score of 2b or 3) was achieved for 15 procedures. Local complications were observed in two cases: one with brachial artery pseudoaneurysm and another with brachial artery occlusion. Three patients with anterior circulation stroke exhibited good clinical outcomes (modified Rankin score ≤ 2) at 90 days. Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage occurred in one patient. Mortality was noted in four patients.ConclusionThe TBA for EVT is a suitable alternative when adoption of the TFA is difficult or impossible.Copyright © 2020 Formosan Medical Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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