Higher serum occludin after successful reperfusion Is associated with early neurological deterioration

AIMS: Early neurological deterioration (END) is an important factor that affects prognosis in patients with acute ischemic stroke. We explored the relationship between serum occludin levels after successful reperfusion and END in patients treated with endovascular thrombectomy (EVT). METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 120 stroke patients who underwent EVT with successful reperfusion. Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the serum occludin levels on admission and within 1 h after successful reperfusion. Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) and regression analysis were used to compare the relationship between serum occludin and END after thrombectomy. RESULTS: Among the 120 patients, 36 (30%) experienced END. The END group had higher serum occludin levels than the non‐END group after successful reperfusion [4.31 (3.71–5.38) vs 6.32 (5.88–6.99), p < 0.001]. The ROC curve showed that postoperative serum occludin levels had a significant prediction value for END (AUC: 0.86, p < 0.001). Regression analysis showed that serum occludin was an independent risk factor for END in EVT patients (adjusted odds ratio: 4.46, 95% confidence interval: 1.92–10.32; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The higher serum occludin levels were strongly related to END after successful reperfusion. Serum occludin may be an independent risk factor for END in EVT patients.