The Safety and Efficacy of Mechanical Thrombectomy in Posterior VS. Anterior Emergent Large Vessel Occlusion: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background and Purpose: Currently, mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for emergent large-vessel occlusion (ELVO) has been widely used in the clinic. However, the question about whether MT provides the same benefits between posterior circulation emergent large vessel occlusion (pc-ELVO) and anterior emergent large vessel occlusion (ac-ELVO) remains unclear. Material and Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 11 studies published between 2011 and 2019 through searching the PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library. Major clinical outcomes include: (1) favorable functional outcome at 90 days; (2) symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH); (3) mortality and; (4) successful recanalization rate. Results: Eleven of 4637 studies met our pre-established inclusion criterion, comprising 4619 patients. In primary analysis, MT in patients with pc-ELVO in comparison to patients with ac-ELVO had a lower likelihood of sICH (odds ratio [OR] = .48; [95% confidence interval (CI), .26-.88]; P = .02) but a higher likelihood of mortality (OR = 1.98; [95% CI, 1.37-2.87]; P = .0003). The pooled evidence indicated that patients with pc-ELVO had worse functional outcome than patients with ac-ELVO in the large sample size group (OR = .79; [95% CI, .63-.98]; P = .03). In addition, no statistical significance was found in the outcome of successful recanalization rate (OR = 1.12; [95% CI, .88-1.42]; P = .35). Conclusions: Our results showed that patients with pc-ELVO receiving MT reduced the risk of sICH but seemed to be associated with poor prognosis.