Objective To determine the optimal timing of endovascular treatment for acute cerebral infarction with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (sICAS) in real world practice. Methods This retrospective single center study enrolled consecutive sICAS patients undergoing intervention. According to the interval from symptom onset to intervention, patients were divided into early (≤14 days) and delayed (14 days) intervention groups. Primary outcomes were any stroke or death within 30 days and the 90-day mRS score. Secondary analyses explored factors influencing surgical timing. Results Among 211 eligible patients, 174 were analyzed, including 53 patients in the early intervention group and 121 patients in the delayed intervention group. The 30-day stroke or death rates were 11.3 and 8.3%, and unfavorable 90-day outcomes were 18.9 and 10.7% in the early and delayed groups ( p = 0.521, 0.145). Higher preoperative NIHSS, higher albumin-to-globulin ratio, and higher LDL might be independent factors influencing the doctors’ decision on the timing of the intervention (OR = 0.819, 0.149, 0.394; p = 0.027, 0.042, 0.004). Thresholds favoring early intervention were NIHSS ≤ 3, albumin-to-globulin ratio 1.53, and LDL 2.85 mmol/L (AUC = 0.664, 0.603, 0.642; p = 0.001, 0.030, 0.003). For posterior circulation lesions, early intervention might led to more unfavorable outcomes than delayed intervention (29.2% vs. 8.2%, p = 0.033). Conclusion In anterior circulation sICAS with minor stroke (NIHSS ≤ 3), high Alberta stroke program early CT score (ASPECTS)/posterior circulation ASPECTS (pcASPECTS) (8–9), and well-controlled LDL, intervention timing may not be restricted, whereas Basilar artery (BA) lesions appear better suited for delayed intervention. Multiple parallel severe stenoses, severe pre-existing global brain injury, and plaque high-signal intensity did not influence on the surgical timing. The conclusions of this study should be validated in future prospective studies.
Yang et al. (Wed,) studied this question.