Background: Sex-related outcome disparities in mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for distal medium vessel occlusion (DMVO) stroke remain unclear. We evaluated whether outcomes differ by sex in patients undergoing MT for DMVO. Methods: We performed a retrospective, multicenter analysis of the MAD-MT registry. Patients with acute DMVO who underwent MT were included. Propensity score matching (PSM) was employed. The primary outcome was functional independence (modified Rankin Scale mRS score 0–2) at 90 days. Secondary outcomes included excellent outcome (mRS 0–1), day 1 NIHSS shift, and reperfusion success. Safety outcomes included mortality and symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage. Results: Before matching, 1147 females and 1062 males were included. After 1:1 PSM (748 patients in each group), the groups were balanced in baseline characteristics. The median age Background: Sex-related outcome disparities in mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for distal medium vessel occlusion (DMVO) stroke remain unclear. We evaluated whether outcomes differ by sex in patients undergoing MT for DMVO. Methods: We performed a retrospective, multicenter analysis of the MAD-MT registry. Patients with acute DMVO who underwent MT were included. Propensity score matching (PSM) was employed. The primary outcome was functional independence (modified Rankin Scale mRS score 0–2) at 90 days. Secondary outcomes included excellent outcome (mRS 0–1), day 1 NIHSS shift, and reperfusion success. Safety outcomes included mortality and symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage. Results: Before matching, 1147 females and 1062 males were included. After 1:1 PSM (748 patients in each group), the groups were balanced in baseline characteristics. The median age (P=0.67). Conclusions: In this multicenter registry of DMVO stroke, functional outcomes and safety measures were similar between females and males treated with MT. Although mortality was numerically higher in females, the difference was not statistically significant. Further research is needed to confirm these findings.
Musmar et al. (2026) studied this question.