Successful thrombolysis for acute ischaemic stroke in haemodialysis

Stroke is a leading cause of death worldwide and is associated with significant morbidity in survivors. Early thrombolytic therapy in acute ischaemic stroke has been shown to dramatically improve patient outcomes. Although the age-adjusted incidence of stroke is 5-10 times greater in haemodialysis patients, the use of thrombolysis for this indication in this group of patients has not been described to date. We present a case where alteplase was used successfully for acute ischaemic stroke in a patient established on maintenance haemodialysis in the setting of an international randomized controlled trial and advocate caution with the use of systemic thrombolytics despite the favourable outcome seen with this case.