TREAT-AIS: A Multicenter National Registry

Endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) is the standard therapy for patients with acute ischemic stroke secondary to large-artery occlusion. In January 2019, the Taiwan Stroke Society established a nationwide TREAT-AIS (Taiwan Registry of Endovascular Thrombectomy for Acute Ischemic Stroke). Here, we provide the study design, current progress, and baseline data of TREAT-AIS.

TREAT-AIS is a multicenter prospective registration program in Taiwan. Patients aged ≥20 years who underwent EVT for acute ischemic stroke were recruited. The key items on the registration form were divided into general stroke demographics and EVT-related sections. The main outcome of effectiveness was functional independence (modified Rankin Scale score, 0-2) at 3 months. The influence of sex on post-EVT outcomes was also analyzed in the presented study.

By the end of June 2022, there were 10 medical centers and 9 community hospitals participating in the TREAT-AIS and a total of 1522 patients (mean±SD age, 71.2±13.6 years; men, 55.6%) being enrolled. The median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score on admission was 18 (interquartile range, 12-23). The major cause of stroke was cardioembolism (43.6%), followed by large-artery atherosclerosis (36.8%) and an undetermined cause (15.4%). Functional independence at 3 months poststroke was achieved in 36.2% of the patients. Male patients were more likely to have functional independence at 3 months compared with female patients (40.4% versus 30.8%; P<0.001). However, the sex difference in functional independence became nonsignificant (odds ratio, 1.12 [95% CI, 0.96-1.46] in men compared with women) after adjusting for age, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score at admission, and recanalization status after EVT.

This study demonstrated the current progress of the TREAT-AIS in capturing real-world EVT data in Taiwan. The TREAT-AIS will provide valuable insights into the real-world practice of EVT in patients with acute stroke and the related quality of care in Asian patients.