Mechanical thrombectomy in patients with acute ischemic stroke

The microcatheter is then withdrawn while the retrievable stent device is held in place and the stent opens within the thrombus, allowing the tines of the stent to capture the thrombus. [...] February 2016 CLINICAL EVIDENCE REVIEW Objective of Analysis The objective of this analysis was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and safety of endovascular treatment employing stent retrievers and thromboaspiration in patients with acute ischemic stroke. [...] We used random- or fixed-effects models for meta-analysis following the guidance of the Cochrane handbook.25 We completed three sensitivity analyses to establish trends in prespecified, clinically meaningful patient populations for the outcome of functional independence as measured by the mRS: Age of the patient (≤ 70 years versus > 70 years) Status of IVT (IVT-eligible versus IVT-ineligible) [...] Finally, three main factors that may raise the quality of evidence were considered: the large magnitude of effect, the dose response gradient, and any residual confounding factors.26 For more detailed information, please refer to the latest series of GRADE articles.26 As stated by the GRADE Working Group, the final quality score can be interpreted using the following definitions: High High confide [...] Table 2 presents the characteristics of the included studies, and Tables 3 and 4 present the baseline characteristics for the intervention and control study samples, respectively.