Clinical outcomes of moderate to severe acute ischemic stroke in a telemedicine network

Acute ischemic strokes (AIS) with severe neurologic deficits are associated with poor short- and long-term prognosis. Thrombectomy alone or in combination with thrombolysis is used for reperfusion in patients with moderate-to-severe AIS. However, the best therapeutic approach within the setting of telemedicine networks needs to be elucidated further. The objective of this study was to analyze clinical and imaging based outcomes of moderate to severe stroke following treatment with thrombolysis, thrombectomy or a combination of both in a telemedicine network. Data of this retrospective study was abstracted from the institutional telestroke database. Patients with a National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score (NIH-SS ≥ 10) were included into the study. Primary outcome measure was the difference in NIH-SS at admission compared to discharge from the hospital. Secondary outcome measure was the discharge disposition defined as favorable (discharge to home or rehabilitation) versus unfavorable disposition (discharge to hospice/death). Furthermore, outcome was analyzed based on reperfusion status following thrombectomy using the Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction (TICI) scale. The NIH-SS improved in all three groups, independent of treatment subtype, with a trend towards best outcomes following thrombolysis and combined treatment therapy compared to thrombectomy alone. In addition, reperfusion rates were higher in the combination group compared to the thrombectomy only group. The number of favorable discharges was similar in all three groups. The present study stresses the benefits of tele-stroke networks in allowing to early identify and treat even patients with severe strokes and benefit from different treatment modalities.