No space left for intravenous thrombolysis in acute stroke: PROS

Five recently published RCTs (MR CLEAN, EXTEND-IA, SWIFT PRIME, REVASCAT and ESCAPE) employing mechanical thrombectomy with modern stent retriever devices clearly demonstrated the superiority of endovascular treatment compared to thrombolysis alone, which is now considered standard first-line therapy for selected patients with acute severe ischemic stroke and large vessel in the anterior circulation. RCT results led to recommendations outlined in “Mechanical thrombectomy in acute ischemic stroke by ESO-Karolinska Stroke Update 2014/2015, supported by ESO, ESMINT, ESNR and EAN”. Moreover, endovascular procedures in the 5 RCTs to date were performed at high-volume referral centers with, in some trials, rigid requirements for the interventionalist to participate, which may have contributed substantially to the excellent results, supporting the concept of centralization of intra-arterial thrombolysis resources and expertise. Therefore, patients with suspected large-artery occlusion and deemed candidates for thrombectomy, should be treated at a Comprehensive Stroke Centre with 24/7 endovascular treatment services. There seems to be limited space left for intravenous thrombolysis alone in acute stroke patients with large-vessel occlusions as thrombectomy plus thrombolysis continues to be reported as being superior with regard to outcome.