Rescue stenting after the failure of intravenous thrombolysis and bridging thrombolysis: an initial Vietnamese report.

OBJECTIVE

Intravenous (IV) recombinant tissue plasminogen activator is the standard of care for patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) who present to the hospital within 4.5 hours of symptom onset. However, IV thrombolysis, even bridging thrombolysis (combining intravenous thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy) has limited efficacy among patients who had occlusive lesions associated with high-grade arterial stenosis requiring revascularization to improve neurological deficits. We evaluated whether rescue stenting results in good outcomes among patients after the failure of intravenous thrombolysis and bridging thrombolysis.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed patients with AIS who underwent rescue stenting for large vessel occlusion with severe atherosclerotic stenosis between May 2020 and August 2022 at Can Tho S.I.S General Hospital. Primary outcomes included the incidence of hemorrhagic transformation and the rate of good outcomes (modified Rankin Scale < 3) at 3-month follow-up.

RESULTS

We identified 13 patients who received rescue stenting after the failure of IV alteplase and bridging thrombolysis, but only 11 patients met the inclusion criteria. All patients experienced successful recanalization, and 1 (9.1%) patient experienced new infarcts. Of these 11 patients, 10 (90.9%) had good outcomes 3 months after rescue stenting. Additionally, a loading dose of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) applied concurrently with IV alteplase improved the recanalization rate for large target arteries but had no significant effect on the incidence of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage.

CONCLUSIONS

Rescue stenting appears to represent an additional therapeutic option in cases that fail to resolve with IV alteplase, which may improve clinical outcomes.