Abstract Background and aims Systemic thrombolytic therapy (sTLT) is a standard treatment for acute ischemic stroke. This study aimed to evaluate motor function recovery in patients with different ischemic stroke subtypes (atherothrombotic and cardioembolic) receiving sTLT during the acute period. Methods The study included 48 patients with acute ischemic stroke who received sTLT, divided into two groups: atherothrombotic (group 1aA, n=32) and cardioembolic (group 1aK, n=16) subtypes. Functional dependency was assessed using the Barthel Index (BI) and level of disability using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) on days 1 and 14 after stroke onset. Results Both groups showed significant improvement in functional independence by day 14 (p0.001). The mean BI increased from 65.94±3.15 to 80.63±2.56 in group 1aA and from 65.11±5.92 to 78.75±5.43 in group 1aK. The mean improvement (ΔBI) was 14.69±1.42 in group 1aA and 13.75±2.07 in group 1aK, with no significant difference between groups (p=0.707). Both groups demonstrated significant positive changes in disability levels according to mRS (p0.001 for group 1aA; p=0.029 for group 1aK). By day 14, patients with atherothrombotic stroke showed significantly better outcomes on the mRS compared to those with cardioembolic stroke (p=0.032). Conclusions Patients with both atherothrombotic and cardioembolic stroke subtypes who received sTLT demonstrated significant improvement in functional independence during the acute period. While the degree of improvement in activities of daily living was similar between groups, patients with atherothrombotic stroke showed better disability outcomes by day 14. Conflict of interest
Yaroslava et al. (2026) studied this question.