Functional outcomes after thrombectomy for ischaemic stroke in the ‘late window’ are similar for transferred patients and patients directly admitted to the treating hospital, according to a subanalysis from the DEFUSE 3 trial.

“Stroke patients presenting to non-thrombectomy centres with a reasonable imaging profile who otherwise are eligible for thrombectomy should be strongly encouraged to be transferred to a thrombectomy-capable center,” Dr Amrou Sarraj from University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, said by email. “At the same time, research is needed to improve direct access to thrombectomy in stroke patients.”

DEFUSE 3 demonstrated the efficacy and safety of endovascular thrombectomy up to 16 hours after last-known-well time in patients selected by perfusion imaging. Whether transferred patients have worse outcomes, as suggested in prior studies, remains unclear.

Dr Sarraj and colleagues assessed the safety and efficacy of endovascular thrombectomy in 121 patients who were transferred from outside hospitals compared with 61 patients who presented directly to the study site in the DEFUSE 3 trial.