
Background and Purpose— Endovascular treatment is the standard of care for the treatment of proximal largearterial occlusion related ischemic strokes. Patients with acute ischemic stroke in the anterior circulation are at riskfor either primary or, following mechanical thrombectomy, secondary occlusion of the distal arteries. The safety andefficacy of endovascular treatment in the treatment of distal intracranial occlusions has not been well studied.Methods— From an institutional database we selected consecutive patients treated with stent retriever for distalarterial occlusions. Recanalization success was measured by applying the Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction (TICI)score. To assess safety, we recorded device-related procedural events and potentially device-related hemorrhageson follow-up imaging. Infarcts in the dependent territory served as a measure for efficacy. Distal arterial occlusionswere defined as any segment beyond anterior communicating [ACOM] in anterior cerebral artery (ACA), beyondposterior communicating [PCOM] in posterior cerebral artery, or occlusion at or distal to the middle cerebral artery(MCA)-M2 segment.Results— Of 330 patients included in this analysis, we identified 42 (12%) patients with distal arterial occlusions.The recanalization rate with use of a stent retriever was 81% in these 42 patients. Periprocedural complicationsincluded vasospasms (n = 3, 7.1%) and distal embolization (n = 2, 4.8%). Asymptomatic post-thrombectomyintracerebral hemorrhages were seen in 9.52% (4/42) of the patients. At 90 days, functional independence (definedby modified Rankin scale of 0-2) was achieved in 88.7% (36/42) of patients with distal arterial occlusions.Conclusions— Endovascular treatment using stent retrievers results in high rates of recanalization and functionalindependence in ischemic stroke patients with distal arterial occlusions.
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 0 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Average | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Average | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Average |
