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Background Current randomized controlled trials are investigating the efficacy and safety of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in patients with medium vessel occlusion (MeVO) stroke. Whether best medical management (MM) is more efficient than unsuccessful vessel recanalization during MT remains unknown. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study using data from 37 academic centers across North America, Asia, and Europe between September 2017 and July 2021. Only patients with occlusion of the distal branches (M2 and M3) of the middle cerebral artery territory were included. Unsuccessful MT was defined as a modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score of 0–2a. Propensity score matching was used to control for confounders. The primary outcome was functional independence, defined as a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 0–2 at 90 days after treatment. Multivariable regression analysis was used to assess factors associated with the primary outcome. Results Of 2903 patients screened for eligibility, 532 patients were analyzed (266 per group) after propensity score matching. The MM group had superior functional outcomes, with 32% achieving mRS 0–1 at 90 days compared with 21% in the MT group (P=0.011). Patients in the MM group also had significantly lower rates of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) (3.4% vs 16%, P<0.001) and any hemorrhage (18% vs 48%, P<0.001). On multivariable regression, unsuccessful MT was associated with reduced odds of functional independence (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.85, P=0.011) and increased odds of sICH (OR 4.32, 95% CI 1.84 to 10.10, P<0.001). Mortality rates were similar between groups (27% in MM vs 29% in MT, P=0.73). Conclusion Unsuccessful MT for MeVO was linked to worse outcomes than best MM. These findings highlight the risks of prolonged attempts and emphasize the importance of efficient procedural decision-making to reduce complications and improve patient outcomes.

Background The impact of certain comorbidities on mechanical thrombectomy (MT) outcomes remains largely unexplored. Diabetes mellitus (DM) and admission hyperglycemia have been associated with poor clinical outcomes for patients treated with MT. In this study, we sought to investigate the effects of DM and admission hyperglycemia on MT outcomes. Methods Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic literature search was conducted in Medline, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Data regarding successful recanalization (modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction [mTICI] ≥2b), functional independence (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] 0–2), excellent outcomes (mRS 0–1), symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH), and mortality were extracted from the included studies. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using random effects model. Results Twenty-one studies comprising 9708 patients were included. A total of 2311 patients (24%) had a history of DM, and 2026 patients (21%) had admission hyperglycemia. Admission hyperglycemia was associated with significantly lower odds of mTICI ≥2b (OR = 0.7, 95% CI = 0.55–0.89), mRS 0–2 (OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.41–0.53), and mRS 0–1 (OR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.34–0.55) as compared to normoglycemic state. Patients with hyperglycemia had significantly higher rates of sICH (OR = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.66–2.54) and mortality (OR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.58–2.52) than normoglycemic patients. Diabetes mellitus was associated with significantly high rates of mortality (OR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.31–2.3) and lower rates of mRS 0–2 (OR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.48–0.76) in sensitivity analyses. Conclusion Our results indicate that admission blood glucose levels and DM can negatively affect MT outcomes. Further research should focus on optimizing MT outcomes for these patients.

Introduction Mechanical thrombectomy for ischemic stroke has traditionally been performed via transfemoral access (TFA). However, newer literature on the subject suggests that trans‐radial access (TRA) may be equally efficacious. Materials and Methods Using relevant keywords, online databases (including Pubmed, Google Scholar, Embase, and Cochrane) were queried from inception until May 2024. Abstracts and full texts were screened according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐analysis (PRISMA) guidelines to shortlist studies that met the inclusion criteria. Risk of bias assessment was performed according to the New Castle Ottawa Scale and Cochrane risk of bias tool 2.0. All dichotomous outcomes were reported as odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). RevMan software was used to perform the statistical analysis. Results Thirteen observational studies and one randomized clinical trial were included in this meta‐analysis. The total sample size was 4973, of which 4074 patients (81.2%) were included in the TFA group and 899 (18.8%) were included in the TRA group. No significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of successful recanalization (OR=0.92; 95% CI 0.66‐1.27; p =0.60), first‐pass recanalization (OR=0.84; 95% CI 0.69‐1.01, p =0.06), access to reperfusion time (mean difference ‐2.99 minutes; 95% CI ‐8.33 to 2.44, p =0.27) and favorable functional outcome. Mortality and rates of intracranial hemorrhage were comparable between the two groups as well, but access site complications were significantly lower in the TRA group (OR=0.57; 95% CI 0.37‐0.88; p =0.01). Conclusion Trans‐radial access for thrombectomy in large vessel acute ischemic strokes is comparable to trans‐femoral access in terms of efficacy and has a lower incidence of access site complications. Randomized clinical trial data on head‐to‐head comparison of two techniques is limited, underscoring the importance of conducting pragmatic clinical trials.

Background Ischemic stroke remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Understanding stroke etiology is critical in future stroke prevention. A cardioembolic etiology of stroke makes up a significant proportion of all ischemic stroke. Part of the evaluation for a cardioembolic etiology requires a structural evaluation of the heart to evaluate for sources of thrombus. Traditionally, transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) have been utilized for this purpose, although both have limitations. Cardiac computed tomography (CCT) has emerged as a potential alternative, offering non‐invasive imaging with high sensitivity and specificity for detecting intracardiac thrombi. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic yield of CCT compared to TTE and TEE in detecting high‐risk cardioaortic sources of embolism, including left ventricular (LV) thrombus, left atrial (LA) thrombus, valvular sources of thrombus, and ulcerated aortic plaques, in patients with ischemic stroke. Methods We conducted a retrospective, single‐center cohort study at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, on patients who underwent CCT within 30 days of stroke onset between March 2019 and June 2023. We compared the diagnostic yields of CCT, TTE, and TEE in detecting structural cardiac sources of embolism. Results 426 patients were included in our study. 87 patients underwent both CCT and TEE, 257 underwent CCT and TTE, and 82 only underwent CCT. The overall diagnostic yield of CCT for detecting high‐risk cardioaortic sources was 15.5%. Specifically, CCT identified LV thrombus in 2.3% of patients, LA thrombus in 4.0%, valvular thrombus in 2.8%, and ulcerated aortic plaques in 7.0%. In comparative analysis, CCT demonstrated a higher yield than TTE (16.0% vs. 3.5%) and a comparable or higher yield than TEE (25.3% vs. 20.7%) in detecting these sources. Conclusions CCT proved to be a viable and potentially superior alternative to traditional echocardiography for identifying some high‐risk structural sources of cardioembolism in ischemic stroke patients. Its non‐invasive nature, coupled with the ability to perform imaging soon after stroke onset, underscores its clinical utility. However, further prospective and blinded studies are required to validate these findings and fully establish the efficacy of CCT in this context.

Background: Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) is the most dreaded complication after reperfusion therapy for acute ischemic stroke. We performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to estimate and compare risks of sICH after mechanical thrombectomy (MT) depending on the location of the large vessel occlusion, concomitant use of intravenous thrombolysis, timing of treatment, and core size. Methods: Randomized controlled trials were included, following a comprehensive search of different databases from inception to 1 March 2024. Random-effect models in a meta-analysis were employed to obtain the pooled risk ratios (RRs) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for sICH with MT, and were then compared to other reperfusion treatment regimens, including best medical treatment and intravenous thrombolysis (IVT). Results: MT in the anterior circulation was associated with a significantly higher risk of sICH as compared with no-MT (RR: 1.46; 95%CI: 1.03–2.07; p = 0.037). The risk of sICH was comparable between the MT and MT+IVT groups (RR: 0.77; 95%CI: 0.57–1.03; p = 0.079). There was no difference in sICH risk with MT as compared with no-MT within 6 h of last known well (RR: 1.14; 95%CI: 0.78–1.66; p = 0.485) and beyond that time (RR: 1.29; 95%CI: 0.80–2.08; p = 0.252); the risk of sICH was also comparable between MT conducted within 6 h of last known well and MT conducted beyond that time (p = 0.512). The sICH risk for MT in the posterior circulation (RR: 7.48; 95%CI: 2.27–24.61) was significantly higher than for MT in the anterior circulation (RR: 1.18; 95%CI: 0.90–1.56) (p = 0.003). MT was also associated with a significantly higher sICH risk than no-MT among patients with large core strokes (RR: 1.71; 95%CI: 1.09–2.66, p = 0.018). Conclusions: When evaluating cumulative evidence from randomized controlled trials, the risk of sICH is increased after MT compared with patients not treated with MT. Yet, the difference is largely driven by the greater risk of sICH in patients treated with MT for posterior circulation occlusions and, to a lesser degree, large core strokes. Concomitant use of intravenous thrombolysis and the use of MT in the extended therapeutic window do not raise the risk of sICH.

Background As the use of flow diverters has expanded in recent years, predicting successful outcomes has become more challenging for certain aneurysms. Objective To provide neurointerventionalists with an understanding of the available machine learning algorithms for predicting the success of flow diverters in occluding aneurysms. Methods This study followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, and the four major medical databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science) were screened. The study included original research articles that evaluated the predictive abilities of various machine learning algorithms for determining the success of flow diverters in achieving aneurysm occlusion. Results Five studies out of 217 were included based on our criteria. The included studies used various variables (patient demographics, aneurysm and parent artery characteristics, flow diverter and hemodynamic-related features, and angiographic parametric imaging) to predict flow diverter treatment outcomes. The machine learning algorithms used, along with their respective accuracy rates, were as follows: logistic regression (61% and 85%), support vector machine (88%), Gaussian support vector machine (90%), linear support vector machine (85%), decision tree (80%), random forest (87%), k-nearest neighbors (83% and 85%), XGBoost (87%), CatBoost (86%), deep neural networks (77.9%), and recurrent neural networks (74%).Two studies trained the machine learning models with both all features and the most significant features. Both studies observed that the accuracy of machine learning models decreased by removing the insignificant features. Conclusion The current literature indicates that machine learning algorithms can be trained to predict the success of flow diverters with an accuracy of up to 90%.

Introduction: In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative tool for enhancing stroke diagnosis, aiding treatment decision making, and improving overall patient care. Leading AI-driven platforms such as RapidAI, Brainomix®, and Viz.ai have been developed to assist healthcare professionals in the swift and accurate assessment of stroke patients. Methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive systematic review was conducted using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus. Characteristic descriptive measures were gathered as appropriate from all included studies, including the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and comparison of the available tools. Results: A total of 31 studies were included, of which 29 studies focused on detecting acute ischemic stroke (AIS) or large vessel occlusions (LVOs), and 2 studies focused on hemorrhagic strokes. The four main tools used were Viz.ai, RapidAI, Brainomix®, and deep learning modules. Conclusions: AI tools in the treatment of stroke have demonstrated usefulness for diagnosing different stroke types, providing high levels of accuracy and helping to make quicker and more precise clinical judgments.

Bevacizumab (BCZ), commercially known as Avastin, is a monoclonal antibody that targets vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Initially recognized as a breakthrough in oncology, it has since gained FDA approval for various ocular conditions and more recently, for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Bevacizumab's ability to inhibit excessive neovascularization suggests it may have a potential role in treating chronic subdural hematomas (cSDH). Recent studies have shown that the pathophysiology of cSDH is more complex than previously understood, with VEGF concentrations in subdural fluid significantly exceeding those in serum, contributing to the high recurrence rates. Intra-arterial administration of bevacizumab has shown promising results in recent case series against chronic subdural hematoma, and may be a viable alternative to middle meningeal artery embolization. If successful, this treatment could significantly decrease the rate of recurrence and result in lower rates of severe neurological complications such as visual loss. This literature review explores the connection between bevacizumab and cSDH, focusing on the pharmacological, safety, and delivery aspects of this approach while summarizing the current evidence supporting its use.