title: Thrombolysis in ischemic strokes with no arterial occlusion.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Twelve million people develop ischemic stroke each year world over and 30-40% of them do not have arterial occlusions at presentation. Trials conducted to study the efficacy of thrombolytic drug reported better outcome with use of thrombolytic drug but none studied the subtypes of ischemic strokes specifically and adequately. The subgroups of patients with no arterial occlusion at presentation continue to receive thrombolytic therapy without proven benefit and with some risk.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this article is to study whether intravenous thrombolysis with alteplase improves clinical outcome in ischemic stroke patients who do not have arterial occlusion at presentation.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective medical record-based observational multicenter, multinational study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Primary outcome measure would be clinical outcome at three-months from stroke onset measured by modified Rankin Scale and National Institute of Health Stroke Scale. Secondary outcome measure will be frequency of intracerebral hemorrhage causing worsening of clinical deficit defined as increase in National Institute of Health Stroke Scale by >4.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Sourabh A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Lahoti
authors.forename: Louis R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Caplan
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Saposnik
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Liebeskind
authors.forename: Sankalp
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gokhale
authors.forename: Shirish M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hastak
mesh_terms: D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000187:drug effects; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020521:Stroke / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D015912:Thrombolytic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator