Abstract WMP95: Anesthesia Modality in Endovascular Treatment for Distal Medium Vessel Occlusion Stroke: Intention-to-Treat Matched Analysis

Background: The optimal anesthesia modality during endovascular treatment (EVT) for distal medium vessel occlusion (DMVO) strokes is uncertain. We aimed to evaluate the impact of the anesthesia modality on procedural and clinical outcomes following EVT for DMVO strokes. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected database from 14 comprehensive stroke centers in the United States and Europe. Patients were included if they had DMVO due to MCA-M3/4, ACA-A1/A2-3, or PCA-P1/P2-3 and underwent EVT. The cohort was divided into two groups: general anesthesia (GA) and non-general anesthesia (non-GA). The primary analysis compared the two groups based on the intention-to-treat principle. The secondary analysis compared both groups according to the as-treated approach. We used propensity scores to balance the two groups at a 1:1 ratio. The primary outcome was the shift in the degree of disability as measured by the 90-day mRS. Secondary outcomes included successful reperfusion, mRS0-1, and mRS0-2 at 90-days. Safety measures included procedural complications, symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH), and 90-day mortality. Results: A total of 365 patients were eligible for analysis. In the intention-to-treat analysis (130 matched pairs), baseline demographic and clinical characteristics were balanced. There was no difference in the degree of disability (mRS ordinal shift; acOR 1.64, 95%-CI [0.78-3.46], P=0.19) between the two groups. GA had comparable rates of successful reperfusion (aOR2.66, 95%CI [0.75-9.42],P=0.13), 90-day mRS0-1 (aOR1.07, 95%CI[0.41-2.78],P=0.89), 90-day mRS0-2 (aOR1.46, 95%CI[0.60-3.55],P=0.41), procedural complications (aOR1.08, 95%CI[0.20-5.79],P=0.93), sICH (aOR3.28, 95%CI[0.81-13.34], P=0.10), and 90-day mortality (aOR0.82, 95%CI [0.35-1.95],P=0.66) compared to the non-GA group. Similarly, when comparing 150 matched pairs using the as-treated principle, GA and non-GA showed comparable outcomes. Conclusions: In patients with DMVO undergoing EVT, GA and non-GA had similar procedural and clinical outcomes, as well as safety measures. Further, larger controlled studies are warranted.