Abstract WP144: Safety Of Eptifibatide Use In Ischemic Stroke Patients Undergoing Endovascular Thrombectomy: A Matched Cohort Analysis

Abstract

Introduction: Small studies have suggested that eptifibatide (EPT) may be safe in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) following IV thrombolysis (tPA) or during endovascular therapy (EVT) for large vessel occlusion (LVO), however larger studies are called upon to evaluate the safety of EPT use in this setting. Methods: A stroke center registry (09/2015-12/2020) of consecutive adults who had undergone EVT for LVO was queried. Patients treated with EPT were matched with 3 control groups based on known factors associated with intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) risk - age, early infarct size (Alberta Stroke Program Computed Tomography Scale [ASPECTS] score), and number of thrombectomy passes. ICH, parenchymal hematoma (PH-2), symptomatic ICH (sICH), and 90-day modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score were compared between matched groups. Results: A total of 236 patients were included, 59 of whom (25%) received EPT. IV tPA was non-significantly more utilized in EPT patients (41%, p=0.22). Rate of any ICH was similar between groups (p=0.23), while PH-2 was significantly more frequent with EPT (21% v. 7% v. 3% v. 0%; p= 0.0001). There were no significant differences in sICH (7% EPT v. 7% v. 5% v. 2%; p=0.57), 90-day mRS (p=0.84), or 90-day mortality (p=0.92) between EPT and control groups. Conclusion: In this single center analysis, EPT during EVT was associated with a higher rate of PH-2 grade hemorrhages but not with differences in sICH, 90-day mRS, or 90-day mortality. Larger prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.