Pretreatment Predictors of Very Poor Clinical Outcomes in Medium Vessel Occlusion Stroke Patients Treated with Mechanical Thrombectomy.

BACKGROUND

Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) from primary medium vessel occlusions (MeVO) is a prevalent condition associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Despite the common use of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in AIS, predictors of poor outcomes in MeVO remain poorly characterized.

METHODS

In this prospectively collected, retrospectively reviewed, multicenter, multinational study, data from the MAD-MT registry were analyzed. The study included 1,568 patients from 37 academic centers across North America, Asia, and Europe, treated with mechanical thrombectomy (MT), with or without intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IVtPA), between September 2017 and July 2021.

RESULTS

Among the 1,568 patients, 347 (22.2%) experienced very poor outcomes (mRS 5-6). Key predictors of poor outcomes were advanced age (OR: 1.03; 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.04; p < 0.001), higher baseline NIHSS scores (OR: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.10; p < 0.001), pre-operative glucose levels (OR: 1.01; 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.02; p < 0.001), and a baseline mRS of 4 (OR: 2.69; 95% CI: 1.25 to 5.82; p = 0.011). The multivariable model demonstrated good predictive accuracy with an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.76.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that advanced age, higher NIHSS scores, elevated pre-stroke mRS, and pre-operative glucose levels significantly predict very poor outcomes in AIS-MeVO patients who received MT. These findings highlight the importance of a comprehensive risk assessment in primary MeVO patients for personalized treatment strategies. However, they also suggest a need for cautious patient selection for endovascular thrombectomy. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings and explore targeted therapeutic interventions.