Stroke treated with mechanical thrombectomy: outcomes of prior use of intravenous thrombolysis

With multiple RCTs demonstrating clear benefit of mechanical thrombectomy in ELVO, the question of best approach to patients eligible for simultaneous treatment with IV TPA and mechanical thrombectomy has been debated. Dr. Hirsch interviews Drs. Leslie-Mazwi and Weber after their instructive papers on this topic. Read the full papers: “Does the use of IV tPA in the current era of rapid and predictable recanalization by mechanical embolectomy represent good value?” is available here: http://jnis.bmj.com/content/8/5/443.full. “Comparison of outcome and interventional complication rate in patients with acute stroke treated with mechanical thrombectomy with and without bridging thrombolysis” is accessible here: http://jnis.bmj.com/content/early/2016/02/22/neurintsurg-2015-012236.full. “Direct to embolectomy without IV tPA: the stage is set for a randomized controlled trial” is available here: http://jnis.bmj.com/content/early/2016/04/05/neurintsurg-2016-012388.full.