One in four over-80s do well after thrombectomy
Aussie study suggests that for large vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation, it is better to intervene than not
More than a quarter of 80-year-olds with anterior circulation acute ischaemic stroke benefit from thrombectomy, despite their age, an Australian study suggests.
Findings show that 28% of 71 octogenarians (mean age 85) undergoing thrombectomy at Liverpool Hospital in Sydney had a good outcome 90 days after stroke onset, defined as a score of 0-2 on the modified Rankin Scale.
This compared with good 90-day outcomes in 55% of 110 younger patients (mean age 64) treated at the same comprehensive stroke centre, said the authors, led by senior staff specialist neurologist Dr Cecilia Cappelen-Smith.
Mortality at 90 days was 27% in the older patients and 16% in the younger ones — a difference that was not statistically significant, they said.
