Bridging Thrombolysis Versus Direct Mechanical Thrombectomy in Acute Ischemic Stroke

Intravenous thrombolysis with recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (IV t-PA) has been the only proven therapy for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) for almost 20 years. Whether IV t-PA prior to endovascular clot retrieval is beneficial for AIS patients with a proximal vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation has currently become a matter of debate and is a relevant unanswered question in clinical practice. The main objective is to determine whether subjects experiencing an AIS due to large intracranial vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation will have non-inferior functional outcome at 90 days when treated with direct mechanical thrombectomy (MT) compared to subjects treated with combined IV t-PA and MT. The secondary objectives are to study causes of mortality, dependency and quality of life in these AIS patients.