Maximizing IV Thrombolytic Therapy in Acute Ischemic Stroke
Kamakshi Lakshminarayan, MD PhDAssistant Professor
Neurology & Epidemiology University of Minnesota
Great Lakes Regional Stroke Network October 8, 2009
Disclosures
K Lakshminarayan receives research grant support from the NIH and CDC
No off-label or investigational drugs/devices will be discussed
Classes of Recommendations• Class I: Evidence for and/or general agreement that the
treatment is useful and effective
• Class II: Conflicting evidence and/or a divergence of
opinion about usefulness/efficacy of a treatment – IIa: Weight of evidence or opinion is in favor of the
treatment.
– IIb: Usefulness is less well established by evidence or opinion.
• Class III: Evidence and/or general agreement that the treatment is not useful and in some cases may be harmful
Levels of Evidence
• Level A : Data derived from multiple RCT
• Level B: Data derived from single RCT or nonrandomized studies
• Level C: Consensus opinion of experts
Maximizing Opportunities for rtPA delivery
• Expanded time window for treatment
• Management of rapidly improving or mild strokes
• IV thrombolysis in the elderly
An Expanded Time Window is Needed
Intravenous Thrombolytic Therapy: The Minnesota Stroke Registry Quarter 2, 2008 to Quarter 2, 2009
Ischemic Stroke3050
YES1431 (47%)
NO1619 (53%)
7/1619 received IV tPA
YES417 (29%)
NO1014 (71%)
10/1014 received IV tPA
Numerator:YES
112 (27%)*
NO 305 (73%)
YES177 (58%)
NO128 (42%)*
Time and date last well known documented
Came within 2 hours of symptom onset
Received IV tPA
Documented contraindications
*The thrombolytic therapy performance measure calculation is the numerator, indicated by the box labeled Numerator, divided by the denominator, the sum of the boxes indicated by the (*).
An Expanded Time Window is Needed!
Minnesota Stroke Registry: Less than 1/3 of patients with documented times come
within 2 hours of symptom onset
ECASS-3 Trial
• Multi-center prospective randomized controlled trial– rtPA n=418
– Placebo n=403
• Treat within 3-4.5 hours of symptom onset
• Median time to treatment 4 hours
• rtPA dosing regimen the same
Similarities to NINDS tPA Trial
Similar inclusion and exclusion criteria But additional exclusions:
– Age over 80 years
– NIHSS > 25
– Any oral anticoagulant use
– Previous stroke + DM
Ancillary Care Post Thrombolysis
Similar to NINDS trial except:
DVT prophylaxis with parenteral anticoagulants allowed
Outcomes of ECASS-3 & NINDS Trials - Disability
mRS of 0,1 at 3 months
ECASS-3: • 52% (rtPA) vs. 45% (control)
• OR 1.34 (1.02-1.74) P = 0.04
NINDS: • 39% (rtPA) vs. 26% (control)
• OR 1.7 (1.1-2.6) P = 0.019
Outcomes of ECASS-3 versus NINDS Trials - ICH
Symptomatic ICH (NINDS definition)
ECASS-3: • 7.9% vs. 3.5% (placebo) P = 0.006
NINDS:• 6.4% vs. 0.6% (placebo) P < 0.001
Outcomes of ECASS-3 versus NINDS Trials - Mortality
Death at 3 months
ECASS-3: • 32% vs. 34% (placebo) P = 0.68
NINDS: • 17% vs. 24% (placebo) P = 0.3
AHA Guideline Recommendations
IV rtPA is recommended for selected patients who may be treated within 3 hours of symptom onset of ischemic stroke
• Class I, Level A
AHA Guideline Recommendations
IV rtPA should be administered for those who can be treated 3-4.5 hours after symptom onset with similar exclusionary criteria as for within 3 hour window + age > 80, oral anticoagulant use, NIHSS > 25, history of stroke + DM
• Class I, Level B
In those with above additional exclusionary criteria – utility is not well established, needs further study
• Class IIb, Level C
Diffusion of Trial Evidence into Practice: Minnesota Stroke Registry
September 25, 2008: ECASS-3 published NEJM
May 28, 2009: AHA guideline recommendations on the expanded window online
Year Total IVT IVT w/in 3h IVT 3-4.5h IVT ? time
2008 86 76 (88%)* 6 (7%) 4 (5%)
2009 Q1 41 37 (90%) 4 (10%) 0
2009 Q2 48 42 (88%) 5 (10%) 1 (2%)
*% refers to all IV tPA cases as denominator
Rapidly Improving or Mild Strokes
Exclusions to IV rtPA
NINDS Trial:
• Patients excluded if rapidly improving or minor symptoms (RIMS)
AHA Guidelines:
• Neurological signs should not be clearing spontaneously
• Neurological signs should not be minor & isolated
How Often Does This Occur?
Minnesota Stroke Registry 2008 data: • 315 IS patients came within 2 hours • 76 (24%) did not receive IV tPA due to RIMSCase series:• 876 IS patients with 24 hours• 162 (19%) did not receive IV rtPA due to RIMS
(Nedeltchev et al. Stroke 2007)Calgary study:• 314 IS patients came within 3 hours• 98 (31%) did not receive IV rtPA due to RIMS Barber et
al. Neurology 2001
What happens to them when they are not treated with IV rtPA?
Discharge Outcomes
Minnesota Stroke Registry:• 76 patients no rtPA due to RIMS• Prior to this stroke 69 (91%) ambulated
independently• At d/c 38 (50%) ambulated independently!Case Series:• 41 patients not treated due to RIMS• 11/41 (27%) died or not discharged home due to
worsening (6) or persistent “mild deficit” (5) Smith et al. Stroke 2005
Discharge Outcomes
Calgary Study:
• 98 patients did not receive IV rtPA due to RIMS
• 32% of these remained dependent at discharge or died during hospitalization Barber et al. Neurology 2001
Outcomes at 3 Months
Case series 162 patients with RIMS:
• Favorable: 75% (122 patients, mRS 0,1)
• Unfavorable: 25% (40 patients, mRS > 1)– mRS 2 = 16%– mRS 3, 4 = 7%– Dead = 1%– 2 recurrent strokes
• No difference in outcomes between mild and rapidly improving Nedeltchev Stroke 2007
What if they are treated with IV rtPA?
Treated with IV rtPA
Case Series:
• 19 patients with rapid improvement were treated at mean NIHSS of 5 [range 1-6]
• 3 month outcomes: – one patient died due to recurrent stroke from AF– NIHSS at 3 months in remaining was 0, mRS range
0-1 Baumann et al. Stroke 2006
What should we do about them?
Management of Rapidly Improving or Minor Strokes
RIMS that have poor outcomes are a heterogeneous group
1. TIA – subsequently have strokes during hospitalization
2. Mild strokes – worsen during hospitalization
3. Seemingly mild strokes with low NIHSS but have gait ataxia or cognitive deficit not captured on the NIHSS Smith et al. Stroke 2005
Management
1. TIA• If clear resolution of symptoms restart the
clock if symptoms recur unless there are imaging correlates of tissue damage (DWI)
• Neuro-checks every 30-60 minutes for 1st 12 hours
2. Mild strokes – do not restart clock• Need clinical trials to guide treatment
decisions since this population were not included in the original trials
Elderly Patients
Limited data on thrombolysis in the elderly• NINDS trial included a few patients over 80
years• ECASS-3 did not• IST-3 does and is still recruiting till 2011• Cochrane meta-analysis: 42 patients > 80
years in thrombolysis RCT (not including IST-3)
• Anecdotal reports on nonagenarians and centenarians being treated
Thrombolysis in the Elderly
Main worry is the risk of ICH• Systematic review of 6 cohort studies
found similar likelihood of symptomatic ICH OR 1.22 (95% CI 0.77-1.94)
• Three times higher odds of dying after thrombolysis for those > 80
• Similar in those without thrombolysis – three times higher odds of dying
The Minnesota Experience
Minnesota Stroke Registry: Year 2008
• 33 patients 90 or older came within 2 hours of symptom onset
• 7 received IV rtPA, 2 died soon after
• 26 did not receive IV rtPA, 4 died soon after
Summary
1. ECASS-3 extends the thrombolysis time window beyond 3 hours with restrictions – class I Level A
2. Clinical trials are needed to evaluate thrombolysis in those with mild deficits or rapidly improving strokes
3. Paucity of data on elderly – await IST-3. Community practice is to discuss with family and treat
Questions?
Thank you!