Mechanical Thrombectomy in Acute Ischemic Stroke: Do Patients Admitted During On-Hours Exhibit Better Results?

Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) has revolutionized stroke care over the past decade. Thus, we aimed to assess whether presenting during off-hours affects workflow times, clinical outcomes, and mortality of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) undergoing MT at our center and, if there is an impact, to identify areas for improvement in the treatment of acute stroke.

A total of 263 consecutive patients who underwent MT between January 2020 and April 2023 were included in the study. The patients were categorized into two groups: those who presented during on-hours (Group 1) and those who presented during off-hours (Group 2).

Among the 263 patients enrolled in the study (131 men and 132 women; mean age: 69.49±12.22 years; age range: 25-95 years), 74 (28.14%) were admitted to the hospital during on-hours, and 189 (71.86%) were admitted during off-hours. Of these patients, 30 (40.54%) and 68 (35.98%) from Groups 1 and 2, respectively, had good outcomes in the third month. The groups showed similar demographics, treatment-related characteristics, and outcomes, with no significant differences detected. The only notable difference was that the percentage of Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DW-MRI) was notably greater in the off-hours group (p=0.044).

The results indicate that MT performed on patients presenting during off-hours yielded similar workflow times, successful recanalization, and clinical outcomes to MT performed on patients presenting during on-hours.