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Thrombectomy in acute vertebrobasilar occlusion: a single-centre experience

  • Interventional Neuroradiology
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

Acute vertebrobasilar occlusion (VBO) has a grave clinical course; however, thrombectomy in VBO patients has rarely been reported. We retrospectively evaluated the clinical and radiological outcomes of thrombectomy in VBO patients.

Methods

From March 2010 to December 2017, 38 patients with 40 acute VBOs underwent thrombectomy at our hospital. Thrombectomy was performed using catheter aspiration (n = 11, 26.8%) or a stent retriever (n = 29, 70.7%).

Results

Good clinical outcomes (3-month modified Rankin scale (mRS) of 2 or lower) were achieved in 9 cases (22.5%), and successful recanalization (thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (TICI) grade of 2b or 3) was achieved in 35 cases (87.5%). Good clinical outcomes were significantly related to aetiologies other than atherosclerosis (p = 0.020) and lower National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores on admission (p = 0.025). The clinical and radiological outcomes did not differ significantly between catheter aspiration and stent retriever thrombectomy (p = 1.000 and p = 0.603, respectively); however, stent retriever thrombectomy had a shorter procedure time than catheter aspiration (59.7 ± 31.2 vs. 84.5 ± 35.1 min, p = 0.037).

Conclusion

In our series, good clinical outcomes were associated with a lower NIHSS score on admission and stroke aetiologies other than atherosclerosis. The two thrombectomy modalities showed similar clinical and radiological outcomes. However, stent retrievers seemed to allow more rapid recanalization than catheter aspiration in VBO.

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Funding

This study was not funded.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Inje University Haeundae Paik Hospital, 875, Haeun-daero, Haeundae-gu, Busan, Republic of Korea

    Dong Hyuk Lee, Seung Hwan Kim, Hyungon Lee, Su Bin Kim, Hae Yu Kim & Sung-Chul Jin

  2. Department of Neurology, Inje University Haeundae Paik Hospital, Busan, South Korea

    Dongah Lee

  3. Department of Radiology, Inje University Busan Paik Hospital, Busan, South Korea

    Young Jin Heo, Jin Wook Baek & Hae Woong Jeong

  4. Department of Neurology, Hanseo Hospital, Busan, South Korea

    Hye Jin Kim

  5. Department of Neurosurgery, Dongnam Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Busan, South Korea

    Jung-Soo Kim

  6. Department of Neurosurgery, Kosin University Gospel Hospital, Busan, South Korea

    Jung Hyun Park

Authors
  1. Dong Hyuk Lee
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  2. Seung Hwan Kim
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  3. Hyungon Lee
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  4. Su Bin Kim
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  8. Hye Jin Kim
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  9. Jung-Soo Kim
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  12. Hae Yu Kim
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  13. Sung-Chul Jin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sung-Chul Jin.

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We declare that we have no conflicts of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. For this type of study, formal consent is not required.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Lee, D.H., Kim, S.H., Lee, H. et al. Thrombectomy in acute vertebrobasilar occlusion: a single-centre experience. Neuroradiology 62, 723–731 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-020-02376-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-020-02376-1

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