• H S Kwak, S B Hwang, G Y Jin, D S Hippe, and G H Chung.
• Department of Radiology and Research Institute of Medical Science, Chonbuk National University Medical School and Hospital, Chonbuk, South Korea. kwak8140@jbnu.ac.kr
• AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2013 Apr 1;34(4):841-6.

Background And PurposePatients who develop severe stroke symptoms due to acute internal carotid artery occlusion eventually in combination with a thromboembolic obstruction of the middle cerebral artery incur a major risk of developing extensive MCA infarction with a poor outcome. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcome for patients with tandem occlusions in the MCA and/or distal ICA, retrospectively, who had undergone stent implantation in the proximal segment of the ICA in addition to intra-arterial thrombolysis.Materials And MethodsThirty-five patients with tandem occlusions of the MCA and/or distal ICA and acute occlusion of the proximal ICA underwent stent implantation for the proximal ICA occlusion and IAT for the tandem occlusion. Clinical outcome measures were assessed on admission and at discharge by using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale as well as 3 months after treatment by using the modified Rankin Scale.ResultsThe median NIHSS score on admission was 12 (range, 6-22). All patients had patent flow into the M1 and ICA after carotid artery stent placement and IAT. After the procedure, 19 patients (54.3%) were TICI grade III; 7 (20.0%), TICI grade IIb; and 9 (25.7%), TICI grade IIa. Symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage occurred in 1 patient (2.9%). The overall mortality rate was 11.4% (4/35). At 3-month follow-up, the median NIHSS score was 4 (range, 1-17). NIHSS score at admission and TICI grade were all found to be independently associated with an unfavorable outcome at 3 months.ConclusionsInitial stroke severity, degree of successful revascularization, and the side of ischemia were found to independently predict the functional outcome at 3 months after treatment.

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