title: Comparison of stent versus medical therapy for symptomatic patients with intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis: A meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the outcomes of intracranial stent implantation and medical therapy for treatment of severe intracranial stenosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Articles were identified from Medline, Cochrane, EMBASE, and Google Scholar published up to August 25, 2016. Eligible studies reported stroke occurrence, transient ischemic attack (TIA), and event-free survival rates in patients who suffered recent TIA or stroke caused by stenosis of a major intracranial artery and treated with either medical therapy or stenting. 4 studies enrolled a total 739 patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  While no association between intracranial endovascular therapy and short-term stroke risk was found (pooled OR=1.349, 95% CI=0.541 to 3.367, P=0.521), significantly higher rate of stroke occurrence was observed in patients treated with stent therapy within 30days of treatment (pooled OR=3.143, 95% CI=1.755 to 5.628, P<0.001). No association was found between the type of treatment and TIA occurrence (pooled OR=0.702, 95% CI=0.277 to 1.781, P=0.457) and event-free survival rate (pooled HR=1.170, 95% CI=0.947 to 1.447, P=0.145).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis undergoing stent therapy may have higher risk of short-term stroke.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 45 Changchun Street, Xicheng District, Beijing 100053, PR China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 45 Changchun Street, Xicheng District, Beijing 100053, PR China.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 45 Changchun Street, Xicheng District, Beijing 100053, PR China. Electronic address: songhaiqing@xwh.ccmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Haiqing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D003251:Constriction, Pathologic / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D016206:Databases, Bibliographic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D057510:Endovascular Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002537:Intracranial Arteriosclerosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D015607:Stents; D020521:Stroke
keywords: Intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis; Medical therapy; Stent