Abstract
BACKGROUND: Clinical and radiographic outcomes after mechanical thrombectomy in the setting of COVID-19 infection remain poorly characterized. We sought to determine how COVID-19 status affects mechanical thrombectomy outcomes in the real-world setting in the United States. METHODS: The prospectively maintained multicenter mechanical thrombectomy registry from the Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology was queried for baseline clinical characteristics among patients with and without COVID-19 who underwent mechanical thrombectomy between March 1 and December 31, 2020 at 12 sites. Primary outcome was the likelihood of good neurological outcomes (90 day modified Rankin scale 0-2) among patients with COVID-19 treated with endovascular thrombectomy, which was assessed using multivariable logistic regression adjusted for age, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score, and substantial reperfusion (modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction 2b, 2c, and 3). Secondary outcomes included National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale at 24 hours. RESULTS: Among 915 patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy during the study period, 51 patients were positive for COVID-19 (5.6%). Univariate analysis revealed that compared with patients who were COVID-19 negative, patients who were positive for COVID-19 were more likely to be male, nonsmokers, have lower Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score, and present with intracranial internal carotid artery occlusions (Table 1). They were also less likely to achieve successful reperfusion. Multivariable analysis, however, failed to identify any independent associations with COVID-19 positive status. CONCLUSION: In our cohort, patients postive for COVID-19 with acute ischemic stroke who undergo mechanical thrombectomy have similar baseline characteristics, imaging features, procedural, and clinical outcomes compared to patients who are negative for COVID-19 in multivariate analysis. Further analyses are warranted.