• Katharina Millesi, Monika Killer-Oberpfalzer, Johannes A R Pfaff, J Sebastian Mutzenbach, Christoph J Griessenauer, Michael Sonnberger, Milan Vosko, Judith Wagner, Matthias Millesi, Slaven Pikija, and Constantin Hecker.
• Department of Neurology, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.
• Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. 2024 May 15.

BackgroundStroke resulting from occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) can have devastating consequences, potentially leading to a loss of independence. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the distance to the thrombus (DT) and both ischemic lesion volume (ILV) and clinical outcomes.MethodsWe retrospectively evaluated patients with thromboembolic MCA M1 segment occlusion who underwent neurovascular imaging followed by endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) at two comprehensive stroke centers over a 3-year period (2018-2020). Preinterventional computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR) angiography was used to measure DT, defined as the distance from the carotid‑T bifurcation to the proximal surface of the M1 occlusion. Postinterventional CT or MR imaging was employed to determine the ILV and clinical outcomes were assessed using the modified Rankin scale (mRS) at 3 months.ResultsThere were 346 patients evaluated. The median DT was 9.4 mm (interquartile range, IQR 6.0-13.7 mm) and the median ILV was 13.9 ml (IQR 2.2-53.1 ml). After adjustment, an increase in DT was associated with a decrease in odds for a larger ILV (odds ratio, OR 0.96, 95% confidence interval, CI 0.92-0.99, p = 0.041). Through this association, more distal thrombi were associated with good clinical outcome (mRS 0-2; clinical outcome available in 282 patients, p = 0.018). The ILV was inversely associated with better clinical outcome OR 0.52 (95% CI 0.40-0.67).ConclusionBased on the findings, DT was identified as an independent albeit weak predictor for ILV and clinical outcomes in patients with MCA M1 occlusion who underwent EVT.© 2024. The Author(s).

5 keywords...

hide…