Mechanical Thrombectomy in Stroke—Retrospective Comparison of Methods: Aspiration vs. Stent Retrievers vs. Combined Method—Is Aspiration the Best Starting Point?

Background: There are three main methods of mechanical thrombectomy (MT): using a stent retriever (SR) only (SO), aspiration catheter (AC) only (AO) and the combined method (CM) using both the SR and AC. This paper describes a real-life, single-center experience using SO, AO and CM during 276 consecutive MTs. Methods: The primary endpoint was the frequency of first-pass complete (FPE TICI3). The secondary endpoints were final mTICI 2b-3, procedure duration, clinical outcome and the total number of device passes. The third aim of this study was to test the association between the clinical outcomes in patients treated with each method and various factors. Results: There was a significant difference (p = 0.016) between the groups’ FPE TICI3 rates with 46% mTICI 3 in the AO group, 41% in the CM group and 21% in the SO group. AO resulted in procedure time shortening to a mean duration of 43 min, and the scores were 56 min for CM and 63 min for SO (p < 0.0001). There were no significant differences in clinical outcomes or in-hospital mortality. The analysis showed a correlation between good clinical outcomes and the administration of IVT: OR 1.71 (1.03–2.84) p = 0.039. Patients ≥66 years old had higher odds of a bad outcome compared to younger patients in general (OR, 1.99 95% CI, 1.17–3.38; p = 0.011). FPE TICI3 was associated with good functional outcomes in the whole treated cohort (OR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.21–3.25; p = 0.006). Conclusions: In our series, AO proved to be the best starting point in most cases. It demonstrates good technical efficacy regarding FPE, it is fast and clinical outcomes seem to be the least age- and FPE TICI3-dependent. It can be easily converted into the combined method, which had the second-best outcomes in our cohort.