Tenecteplase for Thrombolysis in Acute Ischemic Stroke and Its Outcome—An Indian Experience

Background: Stroke has been a growing concern with increasing morbidity and mortality worldwide. Tenecteplase has been approved in India as a newer thrombolytic, in acute ischemic stroke, since 2016. Very few studies have been reported to know the efficacy of Tenecteplase in AIS compared to alteplase. Aim: This study was done to understand the efficacy and related complications of Tenecteplase in AIS. Methods: In this prospective study, we took 112 people with AIS who received Tenecteplase, admitted between August 2018 and August 2020. After obtaining ethical approval, we tabulated patients’ data and did the statistical analysis using an unpaired t test, Analysis of Variance, and chi-square test. A P value of <.05 using a 2-tailed test was considered significant for all statistical analyses. Results: Out of 112 patients, 67.9% were male and 32.1% were female, with a mean age of 60.7 years. We classified stroke by using the TOAST classification. About 62.5% are classified as large atherosclerotic type, 14.3% cardioembolic, and 17.0% lacunar strokes. A total of 82.1% had a middle cerebral artery region stroke. The mean door to needle time was 76.7 min with a standard deviation of 33.3. The primary outcome was met in 47.3%, and the secondary result was achieved in 59.8%. Intracerebral hematoma was the most commonly observed complication. Mortality accounted for 9.8% of the total population. Conclusions: Tenecteplase is the newer thrombolytic agent with good efficacy. More studies are needed globally to understand regional differences and effectiveness.