Intra-arterial tissue plasminogen activator and abciximab in patients with acute basilar artery occlusion.

PLASMINOGEN activators; TISSUE plasminogen activator; ABCIXIMAB (Drug); ARTERIAL occlusions; HEALTH outcome assessment; PROGNOSIS; PATIENTS; THERAPEUTICS

Acute basilar artery occlusion has a poor prognosis and best treatment has not been assessed yet; as for intra-arterial treatment, no 'gold standard' exists. We evaluated a series of ten patients treated with intra-arterial combination of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) and abciximab. Partial/complete recanalisation was achieved in all patients and good outcome (1 month Modified Rankin Scale 0-2) in eight cases, while one patient had symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage and died. Such outcome appears significantly better if compared with the results of Basilar Artery International Cooperation Study, suggesting that intra-arterial administration of rtPA and abciximab may be a promising option in patients with acute basilar artery occlusion undergoing endovascular treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Neurological Sciences is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)