Long term experience using the ADAPT technique for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke.
BACKGROUND
The direct aspiration first pass technique (ADAPT) has been introduced as a simple and fast method for achieving good angiographic and clinical outcomes using large bore aspiration catheters for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). We present a single center's long term experience with ADAPT.


METHODS
Retrospective analysis of a database was gathered on patients undergoing stroke thrombectomy with ADAPT at a stroke center. Speciﬁc parameters captured included age, gender, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score at presentation, time to presentation from last normal, and modiﬁed Rankin Scale (mRS) score at the 90 day follow-up. Radiological and angiographic imaging was reviewed to document the location of the vascular occlusion, Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction (TICI) ﬂow postprocedure, and procedural complications.


RESULTS
191 consecutive patients who suffered an AIS treated with ADAPT were reviewed; 91 were women, and mean age was 67 years. Patients presented with a mean NIHSS score of 15.4, and 71 patients received intravenous tissue plasminogen activator. The average time from onset to puncture was 7.8 h. The average time for recanalization was 37.3 min. TICI 2B or better recanalization was achieved in 180 (94.2%) patients. 98 (54.1%) patients had an mRS of 0-2 at 90 days. Direct aspiration alone was performed in 145 cases, and 43 cases required the additional use of a stent retriever. There was no significant difference in presenting NIHSS score, average time to presentation, average mRS at 90 days, or 90 day mortality between the two groups. Time to recanalization was 29.6 min for direct aspiration compared with 61.4 min in cases that required adjunct devices (p=0.00000201). 79 (57.7%) patients who underwent direct aspiration only achieved a good outcome at 90 days (mRS 0-2) compared with 19 (43.2%) who underwent adjunct therapies (p=0.12).


CONCLUSIONS
ADAPT is an effective method to achieve good clinical and angiographic outcomes, and serves as a useful firstline method for revascularization.
Department of Neurosurgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
Jan
J
Vargas
Department of Neurosurgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
Alejandro
A
Spiotta
Department of Neurosurgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
Kyle
K
Fargen
Department of Neurosurgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
Raymond
R
Turner
Department of Radiology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
Imran
I
Chaudry
Department of Radiology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
Aquilla
A
Turk
D061605:Administration, Intravenous; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy*; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020521:Stroke / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy*; D017131:Thrombectomy / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D016896:Treatment Outcome
Catheter; Stroke; Thrombectomy