Intravenous thrombolysis increased the likelihood of successful reperfusion by 40% in non-cardioembolic stroke, but reduced it by 43% in cardioembolic stroke with distal clot migration.
Does intravenous thrombolysis before thrombectomy improve reperfusion metrics in patients with anterior circulation large vessel occlusion stroke?
Intravenous thrombolysis prior to thrombectomy facilitates faster reperfusion and fewer aspiration attempts in non-cardioembolic stroke, but not in cardioembolic stroke.
ABSTRACT Objective Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) before thrombectomy for ischemic stroke may alter clot structure and procedural performance. We investigated how IVT relates to thrombectomy metrics across stroke etiologies. Methods We performed a time‐to‐event analysis of consecutive patients with anterior circulation large vessel occlusion (acLVO) stroke from a prospective thrombectomy registry at a German tertiary stroke center (January 2017–January 2023). The associations between IVT and groin‐to‐recanalization time and number of aspiration attempts were assessed using multivariable stratified Cox regression adjusted for demographic, cardiovascular, and stroke‐related variables. Results Of 1702 patients screened, 798 (413 female 51.8%, median age 77 years 66, 84; IQR) underwent thrombectomy. IVT was administered to 395 (49.5%) patients, and successful reperfusion (mTICI ≥ 2b) was achieved in 680 (85.2%) patients. In non‐cardioembolic stroke, IVT facilitated clot removal, yielding a 40% higher likelihood of successful reperfusion at any time point compared with direct thrombectomy (aHR 1.40; 95% CI 1.08, 1.81; p = 0.01) and a 36% reduction of aspiration attempts (IRR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.50–0.84, p = 0.001). In cardioembolic stroke, IVT did not alter the incidence of successful reperfusion during thrombectomy (aHR 1.13; 95% CI 0.92, 1.39; p = 0.26) or the number of aspiration attempts (combined IRR ≈ 1.00, 95% CI 0.82–1.22) but was associated with a 43% lower likelihood of successful reperfusion throughout the intervention if distal thrombus migration occurred (aHR 0.57; 95% CI 0.33, 0.96; p = 0.03). Interpretation IVT was associated with faster reperfusion during thrombectomy in non‐cardioembolic acLVO, whereas in cardioembolic stroke with distal clot migration it was associated with delayed reperfusion.
Sedghi et al. (2026) studied this question. Intravenous thrombolysis increased the likelihood of successful reperfusion by 40% in non-cardioembolic stroke, but reduced it by 43% in cardioembolic stroke with distal clot migration.