Effect of treatment technique on radiation exposure in mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischaemic stroke: A matched-pair analysis

Abstract Objective This study aimed to compare radiation exposure (RE) in patients receiving mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for large-vessel occlusions in the anterior circulation using direct thrombo-aspiration (DT) versus stent-retriever thrombectomy under continuous distal aspiration (STA). Methods This was a retrospective single-centre analysis of an Institutional Review Board−approved stroke database of a comprehensive stroke centre focusing on RE per dose area product, procedure time (PT) and fluoroscopy time (FT) in patients receiving MT. Patients who received MT with DT were matched with patients treated using STA according to occlusion location, mode of anaesthesia, manoeuvre count and sex. Results Apart from patient age (DT: M = 74 years (standard deviation (SD)=13 years); STA: M = 79 years (SD = 11 years); p = 0.023), there was no difference in baseline patient characteristics (n = 68 per group). PT (DT: median = 26 minutes (interquartile range (IQR) = 21–38 minutes); STA: median = 49 minutes (IQR 37–77 minutes); p