Administering antiplatelet medication within 24 hours of mechanical thrombectomy may help patients more successfully recover and prevent high-risk individuals from experiencing additional strokes, according to findings revealed in “Safety and Functional Outcomes with Early Initiation of Antiplatelet Therapy Following Mechanical Thrombectomy in Emergent Large Vessel Occlusion Strokes: A Single Institution Registry Study.”

The study was presented at SNIS 2023, the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery’s 20th annual meeting held July 31 to August 4 in San Diego, California.

According to the SNIS press release, the investigators sought to determine how to safely use antiplatelet medications without causing additional bleeding risk to patients. Data was reviewed from 190 patients who underwent this treatment between 2016–2020 and categorized patients by those who received antiplatelet medication < 24 hours after surgery and those who received the medication later.

The SNIS press release stated that the investigators observed that patients who received antiplatelet medication within 24 hours of mechanical thrombectomy were significantly more physically independent at discharge from the hospital than patients who received the antiplatelet medication later. This difference was maintained longer-term as well, with patients who received early antiplatelet medication having much better physical functioning scores 1 and 3 months after surgery. In addition, there was no sign that giving patients antiplatelet medication earlier led to an increased risk of brain bleeding after surgery.

“Continuously working to improve patient outcomes is one of our top priorities,” commented the study’s lead author Hepzibha Alexander, MD, in the SNIS press release. “Finding a new way to safely use this already-essential medication is an exciting step forward in helping patients thrive after stroke.” Dr. Alexander is a neurosurgery resident at Ascension Providence Hospital in Southfield, Michigan.

Neurointerventional news coverage produced in conjunction with Endovascular Today.