Treatment with statins and ischemic stroke severity Does the dose matter?

Objective: To examine the effects of pretreatment with statins at high doses (40 mg of rosuvastatin or 80 mg of any other statin) and low to moderate doses (<40 mg of rosuvastatin or <80 mg of any other statin) on ischemic stroke (IS) severity in clinical practice. Methods: Observational study of IS admissions to our stroke unit over a 3-year period (2008-2010). Mild stroke severity was defined as NIH Stroke Scale score ≤5 on admission. Multivariable regression models and matched propensity score analyses were used to quantify the association of statin pretreatment at high and low to moderate doses with mild stroke severity. Results: Of the 969 IS patients, 23% were taking low to moderate doses and 4.1% were taking high doses of statins prior to the stroke. Statins were associated with lower NIHSS scores on admission (median [interquartile range] 4 [9] for nonstatin patients, 4 [9] for low to moderate doses of statins, and 2 [4] for high doses of statins; p = 0.010). After multivariable adjustment, pretreatment with statins was associated with a higher probability of mild stroke severity in the unmatched analysis (odds ratio [OR] = 1.637, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.156-2.319 for the low to moderate doses and OR = 3.297, 95% CI 1.480-7.345 for the high doses of statins) as well as in the propensity score matched analysis (OR = 2.023, 95% CI 1.248-3.281 for the low to moderate doses and OR = 3.502, 95% CI 1.477-8.300 for the high doses of statins). Conclusion: Pretreatment with statins is associated with lower stroke severity, at high as well as at low to moderate doses

Mechanical thrombectomy in patients with medical contraindications for intravenous thrombolysis: a prospective observational study

Background and purpose: The present study was conducted with the objective of evaluating the safety of primary mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in patients with large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke and comorbidities that preclude treatment with IV thrombolysis (IVT), compared with patients who received standard IVT treatment followed by MT. Secondary objectives were to analyse the recanalization rate and outcomes. Methods: A prospective observational multicenter study (FUN-TPA) that recruited patients treated within 4.5 hours of symptom onset was performed. Treatments were IVT followed by MT if occlusion persisted, or primary MT when IVT was contraindicated. Outcome measures were procedural complications, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (SICH), recanalization rate, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score at 7 days, modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score and mortality at 90 days. Results: Of 131 patients, 21 (16%) had medical contraindications for IVT and were treated primarily with MT whereas 110 (84%) underwent IVT, followed by MT in 53 cases (40%). The recanalization rate and procedural complications were similar in the two groups. There were no SICHs after primary MT vs 3 (6%) after IVT+MT. Nine patients (43%) in the primary MT group achieved independence (mRS 0-2) compared with 36 (68%) in the IVT+MT group (p=0.046). Mortality rates in the two groups were 14% (n=3) vs 4% (n=2) (p=0.13). Adjusted ORs for independence in patients receiving standard IVT+MT vs MT in patients with medical contraindications for IVT were 2.8 (95% CI 0.99 to 7.98) and 0.24 (95% CI 0.04 to 1.52) for mortality. Conclusions: MT is safe in patients with potential comorbidity-derived risks that preclude IVT. MT should be offered, aiming for prompt recanalization, to patients with LVO stroke unsuitable for IVT