Effects of different etiologies of anterior circulation tandem lesions on short-term prognosis of acute ischemic stroke.

INTRODUCTION: The prognosis of anterior circulation tandem lesions caused by carotid artery dissection (CAD) and large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) after mechanical thrombectomy is controversial. By analyzing the clinical data of different etiologies, we explored the best treatment plan.

METHODS: Clinical data of patients with anterior circulation tandem lesions admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from April 2018 to October 2021 were retrospectively collected. The Modified Rankin Scale was used as the standard to evaluate the functional prognosis of patients at 3 months. Safety assessment included symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) and mortality. The technical evaluation of interventional procedures included operation time, successful recanalization, and times of pass.

RESULTS: 74 patients were enrolled, 59 in the LAA group and 15 in the CAD group. The two groups were similar regarding the proportion of successful recanalization, the bridge treatment and the choice of surgical instruments. The puncture to recanalization time and the onset of symptoms to successful recanalization time had no significant difference (P > 0.05). There were no significant differences in hemorrhage transformation (P = 0.26), sICH (P > 0.999), good functional prognosis (P = 0.054), and mortality (P = 0.181) between the two groups. We found a trend toward a better functional outcome at 3 months in the CAD group (P = 0.054).

CONCLUSION: The tandem lesions of anterior circulation caused by CAD tend to have a good functional prognosis in 3 months. The proportion of successful recanalization and surgical safety was similar between the two groups.