An Older Thrombus Delays Reperfusion after Mechanical Thrombectomy for Ischemic Stroke

• Published in: Thrombosis and haemostasis Vol. 122; no. 3; pp. 415 - 426
• Main Authors: Kitano, Takaya, Hori, Yumiko, Okazaki, Shuhei, Shimada, Yuki, Iwamoto, Takanori, Kanki, Hideaki, Sugiyama, Shintaro, Sasaki, Tsutomu, Nakamura, Hajime, Oyama, Naoki, Hoshi, Taku, Beck, Goichi, Takai, Hiroki, Matsubara, Shunji, Mizuno, Hiroya, Nishimura, Hirotake, Tamaki, Ryo, Iida, Junichi, Iba, Jiro, Uno, Masaaki, Kishima, Haruhiko, Fushimi, Hiroaki, Hattori, Satoshi, Murayama, Shigeo, Morii, Eiichi, Sakaguchi, Manabu, Yagita, Yoshiki, Shimazu, Takeshi, Mochizuki, Hideki, Todo, Kenichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany Georg Thieme Verlag KG 01.03.2022
• Subjects: Stroke, Systemic or Venous Thromboembolism; thrombolysis; macrophage; pathology; embolism; stroke
• ISSN: 0340-6245; 2567-689X
• DOI: 10.1055/a-1522-4507

Abstract Background  Thrombosis is a dynamic process, and a thrombus undergoes physical and biochemical changes that may alter its response to reperfusion therapy. This study assessed whether thrombus age influenced reperfusion quality and outcomes after mechanical thrombectomy for cerebral embolism. Methods  We retrospectively evaluated 185 stroke patients and thrombi that were collected during mechanical thrombectomy at three stroke centers. Thrombi were pathologically classified as fresh or older based on their granulocytes' nuclear morphology and organization. Thrombus components were quantified, and the extent of NETosis (the process of neutrophil extracellular trap formation) was assessed using the density of citrullinated histone H3-positive cells. Baseline patient characteristics, thrombus features, endovascular procedures, and functional outcomes were compared according to thrombus age. Results  Fresh thrombi were acquired from 43 patients, and older thrombi were acquired from 142 patients. Older thrombi had a lower erythrocyte content ( p  < 0.001) and higher extent of NETosis ( p  = 0.006). Restricted mean survival time analysis revealed that older thrombi were associated with longer puncture-to-reperfusion times (difference: 15.6 minutes longer for older thrombi, p  = 0.002). This association remained significant even after adjustment for erythrocyte content and the extent of NETosis (adjusted difference: 10.8 minutes, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.6–21.1 minutes, p  = 0.039). Compared with fresh thrombi, older thrombi required more device passes before reperfusion ( p  < 0.001) and were associated with poorer functional outcomes (adjusted common odds ratio: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.24–0.99). Conclusion  An older thrombus delays reperfusion after mechanical thrombectomy for ischemic stroke. Adding therapies targeting thrombus maturation may improve the efficacy of mechanical thrombectomy.