Efficacy and safety of mechanical thrombectomy in the posterior cerebral circulation– a single center study

Abstract

Abstract Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is the gold standard for the treatment of ischemic stroke in both the anterior (AMT) and posterior (PMT) cerebral circulation. Existing literature suggests that PMT may lead to worse patient outcomes. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of selected clinical phenodata on favorable outcomes in patients who underwent PMT and to compare the clinical characteristics of patients who received AMT and PMT. The study group consisted of 623 patients who underwent MT. Patients with PMT had significantly lower median NIHSS scores both at admission (9 vs. 13; p < 0.001) and after MT (7 vs. 12; p = 0.006), compared with those with AMT. In multivariate analysis, the most influential parameters for favorable outcomes in the PMT group at were: National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score 24 hours after procedure (OR: 0.865 and 0.900), time of MT (OR: 0.993), and leukocytosis (OR: 0.961 and 0.974). Patients with AMT and PMT have different clinical profiles. Most importantly, neurological status one day after MT proved to be the most important prognostic factor for a favorable outcome. In addition, several factors play an important role in predicting outcome, especially in the PMT group.