Clots in patients with ischaemic stroke given IV thrombolysis (IVT) within an extended window appear to carry no increased risk of moving distally and becoming irretrievable, a post-hoc analysis shows.

Melbourne researchers used data from the double-blinded EXTEND trial (EXtending the Time for thrombolysis in Emergency Neurological Deficits) in which patients presenting to the ED with ischaemic stroke within 4.5-9 hours of onset were randomised to either IV alteplase (0.9mg/kg) or placebo.

In the new study, the investigators from the Royal Melbourne Hospital compared the position of thrombi on baseline imaging with that done 12-24 hours later in 220 patients.

Clots in the internal carotid artery, the M1 and proximal half of M2 segments of the middle cerebral artery and the A1 segment of the anterior cerebral artery were regarded as retrievable, they reported in Stroke.