Mohamad Abdalkader, Stephanos Finitsis, Chuanhui Li, Wei Hu, Xinfeng Liu, Xunming Ji, Xiaochuan Huo, Fana Alemseged, Zhongming Qiu, Daniel Strbian, Volker Puetz, James E Siegler, Shadi Yaghi, Kaiz Asif, Piers Klein, Yuyou Zhu, Bruce C V Campbell, Hui-Sheng Chen, Simon Nagel, Georgios Tsivgoulis, Zhongrong Miao, Raul G Nogueira, Tudor G Jovin, Wouter J Schonewille, Thanh N Nguyen
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The optimal management of patients with acute basilar artery occlusion (BAO) is uncertain. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) compared to medical management (MM) for acute BAO through a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). METHODS: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs of patients with acute BAO. We analyzed the pooled effect of EVT compared to MM on the primary outcome (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] of 0-3 at 3 months), secondary outcome (mRS 0-2 at 3 months), symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH), and 3-month mortality rates...
January 2023: Journal of Stroke