Endovascular Thrombectomy for Acute Stroke with a Large Ischemic Core: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

BACKGROUND: Endovascular thrombectomy (ET) efficacy and safety in stroke with a large ischemic core is still inconclusive as this population has been underrepresented in ET randomized controlled trials (RCTs). METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis synthesizing RCTs, which were retrieved by systematically searching: PubMed, Web of Science, SCOPUS, and Cochrane through February 18th, 2023. Our primary outcome was neurological disability measured by the modified Rankin scale (mRS). Dichotomous outcomes were pooled using risk ratio (RR) along with confidence interval (CI) using Revman V. 5.4 software. RESULTS: Three RCTs with a total of 1010 patients were included in our analysis. ET significantly increased the rates of functional independence (mRS ≤ 2) (RR: 2.54 with 95% CI [1.85, 3.48]), independent ambulation (mRS ≤ 3) (RR: 1.78 with 95% CI [1.28, 2.48]), and early neurological improvement (RR: 2.46 with 95% CI [1.60, 3.79]). However, there was no difference between endovascular thrombectomy and medical care in excellent neurological recovery (mRS ≤ 1) (RR: 1.35 with 95% CI [0.88, 2.08]). Also, ET significantly reduced the rate of poor neurological recovery (mRS 4–6) (RR: 0.79 with 95% CI [0.72, 0.86]). However, endovascular thrombectomy was associated with more incidence of any intracranial hemorrhage (RR: 2.40 with 95% CI [1.90, 3.01] [0.72, 0.86]). CONCLUSION: ET combined with medical care was associated with better functional outcomes compared with medical care alone. However, ET was associated with a higher rate of intracranial hemorrhage. This can support extending ET indication in the management of stroke with a large ischemic core. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version of this article (10.1007/s00062-023-01306-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.