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(Stroke. 2005;36:2286.)
© 2005 American Heart Association, Inc.

Research Reports

Multimodal Therapy for the Treatment of Severe Ischemic Stroke Combining GPIIb/IIIa Antagonists and Angioplasty After Failure of Thrombolysis

From the Departments of Neurology (A.A.-C., D.W.K., A.J.F., J.S.Y.) and Cardiovascular Medicine (C.T.B., J.S.Y.), The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio.

Correspondence to Jay S. Yadav, MD, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, F25, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44195. E-mail yadavj{at}ccf.org

Background and Purpose— Intraarterial and intravenous thrombolysis are often ineffective for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke and are associated with a significant risk of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). Multimodal rescue therapy combining mechanical disruption and platelet GPIIb/IIIa receptor antagonists may improve recanalization.

Methods— Patients who did not recanalize with thrombolysis were treated with GPIIb/IIIa antagonists, angioplasty, or an embolectomy device. Treatment was individualized based on vascular anatomy, stroke mechanism, patient status, and symptom duration.

Results— Twelve patients were treated within 3.8±2.2 hours. The mean National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score was 19.4±4.1. Six patients had carotid terminus occlusion, whereas 5 had middle cerebral artery and 1 had basilar artery occlusion. The average doses of intraarterial tPA and reteplase were 17.1±8.6 mg and 2±0.6 units, respectively. All patients received either an intravenous or intraarterial abciximab bolus (mean 11.8±5.8mg) and heparin (mean 3278±1716U). Eleven were treated with angioplasty and 4 had mechanical embolectomy or stenting. Complete (8) or partial (3) recanalization was achieved in 11 cases. There was only one (8.3%) symptomatic hemorrhage. Patients had a favorable outcome at discharge (mean NIHSS 8.9±8.7) and 6 (50%) had an NIHSS 4 at discharge.

Conclusions— Multimodal rescue therapy was effective at recanalizing occluded cerebral vessels that failed thrombolysis without an excess risk of ICH.

Key Words: acute • angioplasty • endovascular therapy • platelet aggregation inhibitors • stroke • thrombolysis

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