The Effect of Diagnostic Catheter Angiography on Outcomes of Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients Being Considered for Endovascular Treatment.

Abstract

Background: The risk of catheter-based angiograms alone (non-therapeutic angiogram that does not lead to therapeutic intervention) in acute ischemic stroke patients who are considered for endovascular treatment is not well studied.

Methods: We compared the rates of neurological deterioration within 24 h; symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) within 30 h; acute kidney injury (AKI) and major non-ICH within five days; and functional independence (defined by modified Rankin scale of 0-2) at three months among subjects who underwent a non-therapeutic catheter-based angiogram with subjects who did not undergo catheter-based angiogram in a multicenter clinical trial. Logistic regression analyses was performed to adjust for age, baseline Alberta stroke program early CT score (ASPECTS) strata (0-7 and 8-10), and baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score strata (≤9, 10-19, and ≥20).

Results: Compared with subjects who did not undergo any catheter-based angiogram (n = 222), 89 subjects who underwent a non-therapeutic catheter-based angiogram had similar adjusted rates of neurological deterioration [odds ratio (OR) = 1; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.4-2.3; p = 1] and symptomatic ICH (OR = 0.4; 95% CI 0.1-1.8; p = 0.2). There was no difference in the adjusted rates of AKI, or non-ICH between the two groups. The rate of functional independence at three months was significantly higher among the patients who received a catheter-based angiogram (OR = 2; 95% CI 1.1-3.5; p = 0.016) after adjusting for potential confounders.

Conclusion: Non-therapeutic catheter-based angiograms in acute ischemic stroke patients who are being considered for endovascular treatment do not adversely affect patient outcomes.