Intravenous Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator Therapy for Stroke Patients Receiving Maintenance Hemodialysis: The Stroke Acute Management with Urgent Risk-Factor Assessment and Improvement (SAMURAI) rt-PA Registry

Abstract

Background: To examine the therapeutic effect of intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) therapy for stroke patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis (HD). Methods: Of 600 stroke patients receiving intravenous rt-PA using 0.6 mg/kg alteplase who were enrolled in a multicenter observational study in Japan, 4 patients (3 men, 64–77 years old) on maintenance HD were studied. Results: The primary kidney disease requiring HD was glomerulonephritis in 2 patients, diabetic nephropathy in 1, and undetermined in 1. The duration of HD ranged between 1.2 and 28 years. Three patients developed stroke on the day of HD, including 1 during HD and another just after HD. All patients had stroke in the carotid arterial territory. Pretreatment NIH Stroke Scale scores ranged between 4 and 20, and decreased by 2–5 points at 7 days. One patient needed intravenous antihypertensive therapy before rt-PA; he developed an ectopic cortical hematoma and intraventricular hemorrhage after rt-PA. The other 3 did not develop hemorrhagic complications. The modified Rankin Scale score at 3 months was 0 in 1 patient, 2 in 2 patients, and 4 in 1 patient. Conclusions: rt-PA therapy for stroke patients receiving maintenance HD might improve the stroke outcome. Ectopic hematoma was a unique complication in our case series.