OBJECTIVE: @entity432 (BAO) is a catastrophe with high mortality and disability. Randomized controlled trial (RCT) data supporting/refuting reperfusion treatment are sparse in acute BAO. The study objective was to pool risk estimates for @entity204 or dependency (DoD), mortality, and @entity1779 ( @entity1779 ) from published studies on BAO. METHODS: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and clinicaltrials.gov were searched through August 2013 for studies of reperfusion therapies in acute BAO. Two independent authors selected studies and abstracted the data. Pooled risk ratios (RR) and mean weighted probabilities (MWP) were calculated using random effects model. RESULTS: 45 studies (n=2056) met the inclusion criteria. Recanalization was associated with a lower risk of DoD (RR 0.67; number needed to treat (NNT) 3) and mortality (RR 0.49; NNT 2.5). @entity1779 rate (MWP) with acute therapies was 13%. With recanalization, RR for DoD in those treated  <=12   h was 0.63, and for those treated >12   h, it was 0.67. With recanalization, RR for DoD in the @entity5275 ( @entity5275 ) subgroup was 0.68; in the intra-arterial/endovascular therapy (IA/EVT) subgroup, DoD RR was 0.67. Recanalization resulted in mortality RR of 0.46 in those treated  <=12   h; for >12   h group, RR was 0.50. Recanalization resulted in mortality RR of 0.53 in the @entity5275 subgroup, and RR of 0.48 in the IA/EVT subgroup. @entity1779 rate for  <=12   h was 10%; @entity1779 rate for >12   h was 14%. With @entity5275 , the @entity1779 rate was 9%, and with IA/EVT the @entity1779 rate was 14%. CONCLUSIONS: Recanalization of acute BAO leads to reduction in mortality by two-fold and reduction in the risk of DoD by 1.5-fold. This study underscores the equipoise in acute BAO for comparing systemic and endovascular therapies, and testing different time windows through RCTs.

Recanalization of XXXX improves outcomes: a meta-analysis.

@entity432 :: ('MESH:D001157', 'Disease') :: ['Acute basilar artery occlusion'] @entity204 :: ('MESH:D003643', 'Disease') :: ['death'] @entity1779 :: ('MESH:D002543', 'Disease') :: ['ICH', 'intracerebral hemorrhage'] @entity5275 :: ('MESH:D015819', 'Disease') :: ['IVT', 'intravenous thrombolysis']
@entity432 :: (MESH:D001157,Disease) :: ['acute basilar artery occlusion']
