Comparative Safety and Efficacy of Balloon Mounted Stents and Self Expanding Stents in Rescue Stenting for Large Vessel Occlusion: Secondary analysis of the RESCUE-ICAS Registry

Patients with intracranial stenosis-related large vessel occlusion (ICAS-LVO) may experience better outcomes with stenting compared to standalone mechanical thrombectomy. This study evaluates the safety and clinical outcomes of self-expanding stents (SES) versus balloon-mounted stents (BMS) in ICAS-LVO patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy and stenting. This secondary analysis of the RESCUE-ICAS registry, a multicenter observational study, included ICASLVO patients from 25 stroke centers who underwent stenting. Patients were stratified by stent type (SES or BMS). The primary endpoint was 90-day modified Rankin Scale (mRS) 0-2. Secondary outcomes included successful reperfusion, recurrent stroke, and infarct volume. Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was the primary safety outcome. Inverse probability weighting adjusted for confounders. Among 194 patients, 111 received SES, of whom 61 (55%) underwent pre-stenting angioplasty. After adjustment, no significant difference was observed between SES and BMS in 90-day mRS 0-2 (OR 1.10, 95% CI 0.62-1.96, p=0.75), successful reperfusion (mTICI ≥2B), or final infarct volume. SES was associated with higher odds of moderate stenosis (>50%) at follow-up (OR 3.7, 95% CI 1.15-11.98, p=0.02) and recurrent stroke (13.5% vs. 1.2%, p=0.001), particularly in patients without pre-stenting angioplasty (14% vs. 1%). SES and BMS demonstrated comparable safety and clinical outcomes in ICAS-LVO patients. However, SES was linked to higher rates of restenosis and recurrent strokes, potentially influenced by the absence of pre-stenting angioplasty. Further research is needed to refine stenting strategies in this population. BMS = balloon mounted stents, ICAS = intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis, IPW = Inverse probability weighted, MT = mechanical thrombectomy, LVO = Large vessel occlusion, RS = rescue stenting, RESCUE-ICAS = Registry of Emergent Large Vessel Occlusion due to Intracranial Stenosis, SES = self-expanding stents (SES).