The benefit of endovascular therapy in the treatment of stroke caused by an occlusion of the basilar artery has finally been confirmed in the ATTENTION randomized trial.
The study, conducted in China, showed that endovascular therapy for basilar artery occlusion is associated with higher rates of favorable and independent outcomes, as well as lower overall disability and lower mortality at 90 days, than best medical management alone.
The results were presented by Raul Nogueira, MD, professor of neurology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania, at the European Stroke Organisation Conference (ESOC) 2022, where they were greeted with applause from the audience.
"We can finally say that we have conquered the basilar artery territory. It is about time. We can finally confirm that the benefit of endovascular therapy persists in the posterior circulation," Nogueira said.
"The disability reduction benefit of endovascular therapy for basilar artery occlusion appears to be within the same range as that observed in the anterior circulation. However, in contrast to most anterior circulation endovascular trials, the ATTENTION trial also demonstrated a potential benefit in terms of mortality," he added.
Nogueira explained that the first series of endovascular treatment for stroke in the modern era was published in 1988, and this was in the basilar artery occlusion territory, but almost 35 years later, although there has been overwhelming proof of benefit of endovascular treatment in the antiterror circulation, it remains unknown whether endovascular treatment is beneficial to treat acute basilar artery occlusion.