For patients with basilar-artery occlusion, a greater percentage with good functional status at 90 days is seen with endovascular thrombectomy within 12 hours after stroke, or within six and 24 hours after stroke onset, compared with medical therapy only, according to two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Chunrong Tao, MD (PhD), from the First Affiliated Hospital of the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, and colleagues conducted a multicentre, randomised trial of endovascular thrombectomy for basilar-artery occlusion at 36 centres in China.

A total of 340 patients were randomly assigned to receive endovascular thrombectomy or best medical care within 12 hours after the estimated time of basilar-artery occlusion (226 and 114 patients, respectively).

IV thrombolysis was received by 31% and 34% of those in the thrombectomy and control groups, respectively.