Thrombectomy vs Medical Management for Posterior Cerebral Artery Stroke: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and...

There is a paucity of high-level evidence for endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) in posterior cerebral artery (PCA) strokes.

The MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science databases were queried for well-conducted cohort studies comparing EVT vs medical management (MM) for PCA strokes. Outcomes of interest included 90-day functional outcomes, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH), and death. The level of evidence was determined per the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine criteria. We also conducted a propensity score matched (PSM) analysis of the 2016-2020 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) to provide support for our findings with real-world data.

A total of 2,095 patients (685 EVT and 1,410 MM) were identified across 5 well-conducted cohort studies. EVT was significantly associated with higher odds of no disability at 90 days (odds ratio [OR] 1.25, 95% CI 1.04-1.50, p = 0.015) but not functional independence (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.72-1.07, p = 0.18). EVT was also associated with higher odds of sICH (OR 2.48, 95% CI 1.55-3.97, p < 0.001) and numerically higher odds of death (OR 1.32, 95% CI 0.73-2.38; p = 0.35). PSM analysis of 95,585 PCA stroke patients in the NIS showed that EVT (n = 1,540) was associated with lower rates of good discharge outcomes (24.4% vs 30.7%, p = 0.037), higher rates of in-hospital mortality (8.8% vs 4.9%, p = 0.021), higher rates of ICH (18.2% and 11.7%, p = 0.008), and higher rates of subarachnoid hemorrhage (3.9% vs 0.6%, p < 0.001). Among patients with moderate to severe strokes (NIH Stroke Scale 5 or greater), EVT was associated with significantly higher rates of good outcomes (21.7% vs 13.8%, p = 0.023) with similar rates of mortality (7.6% vs 6.6%, p = 0.67) and ICH (17.8% vs, 13.1%, p = 0.18).

Our meta-analysis revealed that while EVT may be effective in alleviating disabling deficits due to PCA strokes, it is not associated with different odds of functional independence and may be associated with higher odds of sICH. These findings were corroborated by our large propensity score matched analysis of real-world data in the United States. Thus, the decision to pursue PCA thrombectomies should be carefully individualized for each patient. Future randomized trials are needed to further explore the efficacy and safety of EVT for the treatment of PCA strokes.

This study provides Class III evidence that in patients with acute PCA ischemic stroke, treatment with EVT compared with MM alone was associated with higher odds of no disabling deficit at 90 days and higher odds of sICH.