Remote ischaemic conditioning improves outcomes of ischaemic stroke treated by endovascular thrombectomy: the SERIC-EVT trial

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Even after endovascular thrombectomy, more than half of patients with acute large vessel occlusion stroke do not achieve favourable outcomes. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of remote ischaemic conditioning (RIC), a promising neuroprotective treatment, in patients with acute ischaemic stroke who received endovascular thrombectomy. METHODS: This participant-blinded, randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted at 25 hospitals. Patients were randomized 1:1 to either the RIC (cuff pressure, 200 mmHg; twice daily for 7 days) or sham RIC (60 mmHg; same procedure) groups. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with a modified Rankin Scale score of 0-2 on Day 90. The primary safety outcome was the proportion of patients with haemorrhagic transformation within 7 days. RESULTS: In total, 498 participants were recruited. Ten patients (2.0%) were excluded because they did not receive any intervention. Thus, 488 participants (244 in the RIC group and 244 in the sham RIC group) were included in the modified intention-to-treat analysis. At 90 days, 61.1% of the patients in the RIC group and 48.9% in the sham RIC group achieved a modified Rankin Scale score of 0-2 (unadjusted risk ratio 1.25, 95% confidence interval 1.06-1.47; P = .009). The proportion of patients with haemorrhagic transformation was 37.7% and 35.2% in the RIC and sham RIC groups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with acute ischaemic stroke who underwent endovascular thrombectomy, intervention with RIC for 7 days, compared with sham RIC, resulted in an improved functional outcome at 90 days.