Intra-arterial thrombolysis with r-tPA for the treatment of acute cerebral infarction 6 to 9 hours after onset

Abstract

Objective To determine the safety and efficacy of intra-arterial recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (r-tPA) for the treatment of acute cerebral infarction (ACI) in patients under the guidance of computed tomography perfusion-based selection within a 6-9 hour window.Methods Sixtythree ACI patients selected by using computed tomography perfusion imaging (CTPI) identifying thresholds for salvageable penumbra were randomly (random number) assigned to the group treated with intra-arterial thrombolysis with r-tPA (group A,n =30) or to the group managed with conventional anti-platelet aggregation agent (group B,n =33) within a 6-9 hour window.The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and the modified Rankin Scale score (mRS) and Barthel Index (BI) were used for evaluating therapeutic efficacy.Global brain digital subtraction angiography (DSA) was done pre-and posttreatment to observe the recanalization of occluded vessels in the group A.All patients were monitored with CT scan within 24 hours to determine the cerebral hemorrhage,an unexpected complication of thrombolysis.Results Compared with pre-treatment,there were significant differences in NIHSS 24 hours after treatment in the group A and 7 days after treatment in both groups (P ＜ 0.01).However,there were no significant differences in NIHSS 24 hours after treatment in the group B.More improvements in NIHSS at 24 hours and 7 days after treatment were observed in the group A than those in group B (P ＜ 0.01),and more patients with favorable outcomes identified by mRS and BI in the group A than those in the group B (P =0.017 and P =0.016,respectively).In addition,twenty patients were showed successful recanalization in the group A and there were 2 cases of cerebral hemorrhage occurred in the group A,and there was no significant difference in the incidence of cerebral hemorrhage within 24 hours between the two groups (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions Intra-arterial thrombolysis with r-tPA for treatment of acute cerebral infarction was safe and effective within a 6-9 hour window under the guidance of CTPI. Key words: Acute cerebral infarction; Intra-arterial thrombolysis; Recombinant tissue plasminogen activator; Computed tomography perfusion imaging; Ischemic penumbra; Time-window; Vascular recanalization ; Neurological function