Magnetic Resonance Imaging–Guided Thrombolysis (0.6 mg/kg) Was Beneficial for Unknown Onset Stroke Above a Certain Core Size
Authors: Toyoda Kazunori , Inoue Manabu , Yoshimura Sohei , Yamagami Hiroshi , Sasaki Makoto , Fukuda-Doi Mayumi , Kimura Kazumi , Asakura Koko , Miwa Kaori , Kanzawa Takao , Ihara Masafumi , Kondo Rei , Shiozawa Masayuki , Ohtaki Masafumi , Kamiyama Kenji , Itabashi Ryo , Iwama Toru , Aoki Junya , Minematsu Kazuo , Yamamoto Haruko , Koga Masatoshi , Mihara Ban , Mouri Wataru , Furui Eisuke , Yazawa Yukako , Enomoto Yukiko , Egashira Yusuke , Yakushiji Yusuke , Nakase Taizen , Doijiri Ryosuke , Ito Yasuhiro , Suzuki Junichiro , Nagakane Yoshinari , Tanaka Eijiro , Okada Yasushi , Gotoh Seiji , Igarashi Shuichi , Ohnishi Hideyuki , Ohnishi Hiroyuki , Tsujino Akira , Tateishi Yohei , Takizawa Shunya , Homma Kazunari , Shiokawa Yoshiaki , Suzuki Rieko , Sakai Nobuyuki , Todo Kenichi , Ohara Nobuyuki , Hasegawa Yasuhiro , Sasaki Naoshi , Arakawa Shuji , Osaki Masato , Inoue Tsuyoshi , Takagi Yasushi , Kanematsu Yasuhisa , Yoshimura Shinichi , Uesaka Yoshikazu , Urabe Takao , Watanabe Masao , Ueda Toshihiro , Sato Shoichiro , Hamasaki Toshimitsu , Hamasaki Toshimitsu , Sakakibara Megimi , Kitazono Takanari , Ohtsuki Toshiho , Shimizu Wataru , Sozu Takashi , Hirano Teruyuki , Kudo Kohsuke , Morita Naomi , Kuwahara Ken , Oita Akira , Homma Kazunari , Seki Kenta , Ide Toshihiro , Okada Takashi , Ikenouchi Hajime , Ohara Hiromi , Uotani Mihoko , Murata Kayo , Kamiyoshi Shoko , Kanai Haruka , Tokunaga Azusa , Ito Ai 
Published: December 2020

Background and Purpose:
We determined to identify patients with unknown onset stroke who could have favorable 90-day outcomes after low-dose thrombolysis from the THAWS (Thrombolysis for Acute Wake-Up and Unclear-Onset Strokes With Alteplase at 0.6 mg/kg) database.

Methods:
This was a subanalysis of an investigator-initiated, multicenter, randomized, open-label, blinded–end point trial. Patients with stroke with a time last-known-well >4.5 hours who showed a mismatch between diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive alteplase at 0.6 mg/kg intravenously or standard medical treatment. The patients were dichotomized by ischemic core size or National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, and the effects of assigned treatments were compared in each group. The efficacy outcome was favorable outcome at 90 days, defined as a modified Rankin Scale score of 0 to 1.

Results:

The median DWI-Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) was 9, and the median ischemic core volume was 2.5 mL. Both favorable outcome (47.1% versus 48.3%) and any intracranial hemorrhage (26% versus 14%) at 22 to 36 hours were comparable between the 68 thrombolyzed patients and the 58 control patients. There was a significant treatment-by-cohort interaction for favorable outcome between dichotomized patients by ASPECTS on DWI (
P
=0.026) and core volume (
P
=0.035). Favorable outcome was more common in the alteplase group than in the control group in patients with DWI-ASPECTS 5 to 8 (RR, 4.75 [95% CI, 1.33–30.2]), although not in patients with DWI-ASPECTS 9 to 10. Favorable outcome tended to be more common in the alteplase group than in the control group in patients with core volume >6.4 mL (RR, 6.15 [95% CI, 0.87–43.64]), although not in patients with volume ≤6.4 mL. The frequency of any intracranial hemorrhage did not differ significantly between the 2 treatment groups in any dichotomized patients.

Conclusions:
Patients developing unknown onset stroke with DWI-ASPECTS 5 to 8 showed favorable outcomes more commonly after low-dose thrombolysis than after standard treatment.

Registration:

URL:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov
; Unique Identifier: NCT02002325. URL:
https://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr
; Unique Identifier: UMIN000011630.