Radiation Outcome in Mechanical Thrombectomy of Acute Ischemic Stroke

OBJECTIVE: Mechanical thrombectomy is recommended for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) with large artery occlusion. Radiation during the endovascular procedure would increase the risk of skin diseases. We sought to identify radiation outcomes during mechanical thrombectomy. METHODOLOGY: We prospectively collected and analyzed radiation parameters during mechanical thrombectomy in 41 patients affected with acute cerebral artery occlusion. RESULTS: There were 41 cases (68.73 ± 11.05 years) in this study, with a National Institute Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score of 15.66 ± 5.94. The time parameters were recorded as following: 84.45 ± 31.66 min (operation duration), 129.71 ± 81.14 s (angiographic run), 16.02 ± 11.03 min (fluoroscopy) and 18.19 ± 11.14 min (angiographic exposure). The doses produced in the procedure were: 1276.43 ± 1647.56 mGy (shot dose), 607.26 ± 412.34 mGy (fluoroscopy) and 1635.52 ± 593.65 mGy (angiographic exposure). Further analysis discovered no association between NIHSS and these time and radiation parameters (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study provided the description of radiation details during mechanical thrombectomy for acute cerebral artery occlusion. The stroke severity would not influence the procedure parameters.