Intra-arterial Treatment for Clot Removal More Effective for Stroke Care

In a recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that using intra-arterial treatment to remove a stroke-causing blood clot in a large vessel supplying blood to the brain provides better outcomes than trying to dissolve the clot using clot-busting drugs alone. Intra-arterial treatment could consist of IA lytics or mechanical treatment, however in the majority of the patients in the study a stent retriever was used. In this procedure, the stent retriever is inserted into the patient’s femoral artery starting in the leg and navigated to the site of the blood clot in the brain — once in place, the physician grabs the clot with the device and removes it. Results of the study showed that using the stent retrievers in conjunction with clot busting drugs, was almost twice as likely to result in a good outcome. “We now have proof that these treatments improve patient outcomes. This is remarkable for a disease that can kill up to 40 percent of patients left untreated,” said one of the study’s researchers. To read more about this study, click here.