Neurological Functional Independence After Endovascular Thrombectomy and Different Imaging Modalities for Large Infarct Core Assessment

PurposeTo investigate the rate of neurological functional independence (NFI) at 90 days in patients with large infarct core (LIC), which was evaluated by different imaging modalities before endovascular thrombectomy (EVT).MethodsPubMed and EMBASE were searched for original studies on clinical functional outcomes at 90 days in LIC patients who received EVT treatment from inception to 28 September 2021. The pooled NFI rates were calculated using random effects model according to different imaging modalities and criteria.ResultsWe included 34 studies enrolling 2997 LIC patients. The NFI rates were 23% (95% confidence interval, CI 15–32%) and 24% (95% CI 10–38%) when LIC was defined as core volume ≥50 ml and ≥ 70 ml separately on computed tomography perfusion, 36% (95% CI 23–48%) and 21% (95% CI 17–25%) when LIC was defined as core volume ≥ 50 ml and ≥ 70 ml separately on magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), 28% (95% CI 24–32%) and 37% (95% CI 21–53%) when LIC was defined as DWI-ASPECTS ≤ 5 and ≤ 6 separately, 23% (95% CI 19–27%) and 32% (95% CI 18–46%) when LIC was defined as NCCT-ASPECTS ≤ 5 and ≤ 6 separately.ConclusionSimilar NFI rates could be obtained after EVT in LIC patients if proper LIC criteria were select according to the imaging modality.