Endovascular thrombectomy in acute ischemic stroke: new treatment guide

Purpose of reviewRecent randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have demonstrated strong efficacy of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) from large vessel occlusions (LVO). SIESTA, AnSTROKE, GOLIATH showed no deleterious effects of general anesthesia on patient outcome after EVT compared with conscious sedation. DAWN and DEFUSE 3 are extending the time window for EVT up to 24h in carefully selected patients. This review discusses the current literature on the rapidly expanding subject of endovascular stroke therapy and optimal anesthetic management.Recent findingsRecent retrospective studies of RCT data sets show that general anesthesia is associated with negative clinical outcome in AIS patients undergoing EVT when compared with sedation. Two of the possible mechanisms of this finding are systolic hypotension and hypocapnia. SIESTA, AnSTROKE, GOLIATH showed no difference in short-term clinical outcome between EVT patients treated with general anesthesia versus conscious sedation. DAWN and DEFUSE 3 demonstrated improved functional outcomes after EVT in those treated up to 24h after selection with perfusion imaging, increasing the number of patients eligible for EVT.SummaryEffective reperfusion with stent retriever technology, careful patient selection using perfusion imaging, and careful use of anesthetic technique affect outcome.