Thrombectomy Alone or Alongside Intravenous Thrombolysis in Managing Acute Ischemic Stroke Caused by Basilar Artery Occlusion: A Multicenter Observational Study.

Objective: It remains unclear whether the combination of endovascular treatment (EVT) with intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) results in a more favorable functional outcome than EVT alone in managing cases of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) caused by basilar artery occlusion (BAO). Thus, this study aimed to compare the outcomes of 2 approaches-direct endovascular treatment (DEVT) and bridging therapy (IVT plus EVT)-in patients with acute BAO presenting within 4.5 hours of stroke onset.

Methods: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 153 patients with acute BAO presenting within 4.5 hours of stroke onset. Of these patients, 65 (42.5%) and 88 (57.5%) underwent DEVT and bridging therapy, respectively. The primary outcome was defined as good functional outcome (mRS, 0-3) at 90 days. Additionally, preoperative clinical features, thrombectomy attempts, successful reperfusion rates, incidences of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH), and mortality were compared between the 2 groups.

Results: At 90 days, the rate of good functional outcome was comparable between the DEVT (44.6%) and bridging-therapy (39.8%) groups (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.12; 95% CI, 0.55-2.31; P = .753). The bridging-therapy group exhibited a lower percentage of patients requiring ≥3 attempts of stent retrieval (aOR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.16-0.93; P = .034). Preoperative clinical features, rate of successful reperfusion, sICH, and mortality were similar between the 2 groups.

Conclusions: In patients with BAO-induced AIS, DEVT demonstrates a comparable functional outcome to bridging therapy within 4.5 hours of symptom onset, but IVT reduces the number of thrombectomy attempts.