Current trends in the management of acute ischemic stroke

Stroke is the leading cause of disability and most of the cases are those of ischemic stroke. Management strategies especially for large vessel occlusive stroke have undergone a significant change in the recent years that include widespread use of thrombolytic medications followed by endovascular clot removal. For successful treatment by endovascular thrombectomy, the important factors are patient selection based on clinical criterion including age, time of onset, premorbid clinical condition, co-morbidities, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale, and imaging criterion including computed tomography (CT) head, CT angiogram and CT perfusion. Patients presenting within 4.5 hours of onset are considered for intravenous (IV) recombinant tissue plasminogen activator treatment. Mechanical clot retrieval devices have evolved over the past decade. The Mechanical Embolus Removal in Cerebral Ischemia device was approved first followed by the penumbra revascularization system. They have proven in various studies to improve recanalization with acceptable rates of symptomatic intra-cerebral hemorrhage. Introduction of stent retrievers has led to a new era in the interventional management of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Recent trials namely MRCLEAN, ESCAPE, SWIFT PRIMEs, and EXTEND-IA have used the stent retriever predominantly and have shown unequivocal benefit in the outcome at 90 days for AIS patients with large vessel occlusion. More recently, a new catheter namely 5 MAX ACE was introduced along with improvement in the suction device. This has led to a direct aspiration first pass technique resulting in faster recanalization. Advancements in the endovascular management of AIS with large vessel occlusion have resulted in a paradigm shift in the way this disease is managed. Improvements in patient selection using clinical and imaging criterion along with technical and technological advancements in mechanical thrombectomy have made possible a significantly improved outcome in stroke patients.