Predictors of favorable outcomes for vertebrobasilar artery occlusion after endovascular therapy within 24 hours of symptom onset.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study was to describe our results of endovascular therapy (EVT) for vertebrobasilar artery occlusion (VBAO) within 24 h of symptom onset, and to evaluate prognostic factors associated with favorable outcomes.

METHODS

The present study enrolled patients who underwent EVT for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) caused by VBAO. Inclusion criteria for EVT to treat VBAO were as follows: (1) computed tomography angiography (CTA) or magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) confirmed acute VBAO; (2) baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score ≥2; (3) premorbid modified Rankin scale (mRS) score ≤2; (4) onset or last known time to puncture within 24 h; and (5) posterior-circulation Acute Stroke Prognosis Early CT score (pc-ASPECTS) ≥6. Favorable outcomes were defined as mRS scores of 0-3 at three months following EVT. The associations among baseline parameters, procedural parameters, and favorable outcomes were assessed.

RESULTS

A total of 67 patients were recruited in this study, of which 40 patients (59.7 %) had favorable outcomes. Of the 50 patients with a late-window (6-24 h), 29 patients (58 %) had favorable outcomes. Univariate analysis revealed significant associations of the following parameters with favorable outcomes in the enrolled patients: age, sex, smoking status, baseline NIHSS score, baseline Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score, Pons-midbrain index (PMI), and intracranial atherosclerosis (ICAS). Multivariate logistic regression indicated that only age (OR 0.914, 95 % CI: 0.849 to 0.984; p = 0.017), baseline GCS score (OR 1.234, 95 % CI: 1.061-1.435; p = 0.006), and PMI (OR 0.448, 95 % CI: 0.252 to 0.798; p = 0.006) were independently associated with favorable outcomes at three months following EVT. After adjustments for confounding factors in patients with a late-window, only age (OR 0.879, 95 % CI: 0.799 to 0.967; p = 0.008) was associated with favorable outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Younger age, lower PMI, and higher GCS scores in patients with VBAO-induced AIS were associated with more favorable outcomes. In late-window (6-24 h) patients, younger age associated to favorable outcomes, and lower NIHSS scores and lower PMI each also had a tendency to associated with favorable outcomes.