[Basilar artery occlusion--a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge]

Acute basilar artery occlusion is a neurological emergency that almost invariably leads to death or severe disability if not recanalized. Therapeutic recanalization is attempted using thrombolytic therapy either intravenously alone or by bridging it to on-demand, endovascular procedures. Due to often demanding differential diagnosis, angiographic evidence of basilar artery occlusion is necessary before treatment decisions. The etiology is often cardioembolism or vertebrobasilar thromboembolism due to atherothrombotic disease, or vertebral artery dissection in less than one in ten cases. Different therapeutic approaches have not been compared in randomized controlled trials. The selection of recanalization therapies thus builds on empirical knowledge and availability of vascular interventional services in the local setting.