Safety and efficacy of mechanical thrombectomy with stent-retrievers in anticoagulated patients with anterior circulation stroke.

AIM: To assess the safety and efficacy of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) with stent-retrievers in anterior circulation stroke (ACS) patients due to the occlusion of major cerebral arteries, and to compare the results achieved in patients on oral anticoagulation (OAC) and those not on OAC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present retrospective study comprised 285 consecutive patients (115 males; mean age 74±13 years). The following data were collected: baseline characteristics, occurrence of risk factors, pre-event treatment with OAC, neurological deficit at the time of treatment, time to therapy, recanalisation rate (successful recanalisation defined as Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score ≥2b), post-treatment imaging findings. The 90-day clinical outcome was assessed using modified Rankin scale (good outcome defined as 0-2). RESULTS: The following statistically insignificant differences were found in 26 patients on OAC versus 259 patients without OAC: occurrence of symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage 7.7% versus 8.1%, achievement of successful recanalisation 69.2% versus 82.6%, good 90-day clinical outcome 34.6% versus 56.8%, 90-day mortality 26.9% versus 20.8% (p>0.05 in all cases). Age and neurological deficit at the time of treatment were identified as independent negative predictors of good 90-day clinical outcome (odds ratio [OR]=0.90, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.88-0.94 and OR=0.83, 95% CI: 0.77-0.90, respectively) and as independent positive predictors of mortality (OR=1.12, 95% CI: 1.06-1.18 and, OR=1.17, 95% CI: 1.07-1.27, respectively; p<0.05 in all cases). CONCLUSIONS: MT with stent-retrievers is safe and effective in ACS patients on OAC.

Adverse reactions to BCG.

In the post-war period the following BCG vaccines were successively in use for preventive vaccination in the Czech territory: (a) Copenhagen BCG, 1947-1950, (b) Prague BCG 725, 1951-1980, (c) Moscow BCG, 1981-1993, and (d) Behring BCG, from 1994 onwards. These BCG substrains can be now identified by modern methods of molecular genetics. Introducing the Moscow BCG brought about an elevated incidence of iatrogenic local and regional lymph node adverse reactions compared with the previous Prague BCG product and, as a new phenomenon, bone and joint involvements in children vaccinated at birth. The aim of this study was to analyze the incidence of postvaccination adverse reactions reported in the period from 1981 to 1993 as related to the Moscow BCG vaccine and, to demonstrate the effect of lower vaccination dosage on their frequency. The concentration of the Moscow BCG varied from 11 to 22.6 x 10(6) (average 16.2) CFU per 1 mg. In the period when full dose of BCG (0.05 mg per 0.1 ml) was applied to newborns 437 local and 195 regional lymph node complications were recorded, i.e. 0.08% of vaccinated were affected, demanding antituberculosis chemotherapy in 6.5% and surgical interventions in 24%. When the lowered vaccination dose (0.025 mg per 0.1 ml) was inoculated to newborns the local adverse reactions rose paradoxically affecting 0.1% of vaccinated but the regional lymph node reactions fell considerably to reach 0.01%; the demand for chemotherapy and surgery also fell down to 3.1 and 4.8% respectively. Bone and joint adverse involvements were recorded in 28 cases, i.e. in 3.7 per 10(5) of those vaccinated with the full dose.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)