Acute Stroke With Large Vessel Occlusion and Minor Clinical Deficits: Prognostic Factors and Therapeutic Implications

Background and Purpose: The optimal acute management of patients with large vessel occlusion (LVO) and minor clinical deficits on admission [National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) ≤ 4] remains to be elucidated. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prognostic factors and therapeutic management of those patients. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we investigated (1) all patients with acute ischemic stroke due to an LVO who underwent mechanical thrombectomy (MT) and (2) all patients with minor clinical deficits (NIHSS ≤ 4) on admission due to an LVO between January 2013 and December 2016 at the University Medical Center Erlangen. We dichotomized management of patients with minor deficits treated with MT for analysis according to immediate mechanical thrombectomy (IT) and initial medical management with rescue intervention (MM) in case of secondary deterioration. Primary endpoints were secondary deterioration, in-hospital mortality, and functional outcome on day 90 (dichotomized modified Rankin Scale 0–2: favorable, 3–6: poor). Results: Two hundred twenty-three patients (83% with anterior circulation stroke, 13 (6%) with minor deficits) treated with MT and 88 patients with minor deficits due to LVO [13 (15%) treated with MT] were included. Secondary deterioration (n = 19) was independently associated with poor outcome in patients with minor deficits and LVO [odds ratio (OR), 0.060; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.013–0.280], which in turn was associated with the occlusion site [especially M1 occlusion: 11 (58%) vs. 3 (4%) in patients without secondary deterioration, p < 0.0001]. IT (n = 8) was associated with a lower intrahospital mortality compared to MM (n = 5; 13 vs. 80%; OR, 0.036; 95% CI, 0.002–0.741). Seven of eight patients with IT survived until discharge, with 29% showing a favorable functional outcome on day 90. Conclusions: Secondary deterioration is associated with poor outcome in patients with LVO and minor deficits, which in turn was associated with occlusion site. Future randomized controlled trials should assess whether selected patients, depending on occlusion site and associated characteristics, may benefit from MT.