Urgent intervention of hemodynamically significant stenosis of the internal carotid artery in the acutest period of an ischaemic stroke

Aim. To assess the results of carotid angioplasty with stenting (CAS) performed in the first 3 h after the onset of ischaemic stroke (the most acute period of acute cerebrovascular accident). Methods. This retrospective study included 312 patients from January 2008 to August 2020 with hemodynamically significant stenosis of the internal carotid arteries (ICA) who underwent CAS within 3 h of stroke onset. After a patient was hospitalised in our emergency department, stroke development was assessed by a neurologist. The level of neurological deficit was determined according to the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), the modified Rankin scale, the Barthel scale and the Rivermead Mobility Index. Multispiral computed tomography (MSCT) of the brain was then performed. On condition of visualisation of the ischaemic focus, the patient was sent for screening colour duplex scanning of the brachiocephalic arteries (BCA), arteries of the lower extremities, aortic arch and heart. If hemodynamically significant stenosis in the ICA was visualised, the patient underwent MSCT angiography of the BCA. The degree of stenosis was determined using the North American Symptomatic Trial Collaborators (NASCET) classifications. The on-duty multidisciplinary council determined the tactics of the patient's treatment. Decisions regarding surgical correction and the choice of revascularisation strategy (CAS or carotid endarterectomy) were made based on stratification of the risk of postoperative complications according to the EuroSCORE II scale and the severity of coronary lesions according to the SYNTAX Score (in the presence of a history of coronary angiography). The time between admission to the emergency department and admission to the operating room was 84.5 ± 9.3 minutes. The inclusion criteria were 1. mild neurological disorders from 3 to 8 points on the NIHSS scale, no more than 2 points on the Rankin modification scale and more than 61 points on the Barthel scale; 2. Indication for CAS according to the current national recommendations; 3. Ischaemic focus in the brain no more than 2.5 cm in diameter according to MSCT; 4. Absence of pronounced calcification of the ICA. The exclusion criteria were: 1. Contraindications for CAS; 2. The presence of thrombosis of the ICA requiring the introduction of fibrinolytics (Alteplase), thromboextraction and thromboaspiration. Results. In the hospital postoperative period, 6 (1.92%) patients had lethal outcomes, 5 (1.6%) had myocardial infarctions, 5 (1.6%) had nonfatal stroke, 7 (2.2%) had asymptomatic 'silent' stroke, 2 (0.64%) had haemorrhagic transformations and 1 (0.32%) had ICA thrombosis. The combined endpoint (death + stroke + myocardial infarction) was reached in 7.05% of patients (n = 22). Conclusion. CAS is a safe and effective method of brain revascularisation in the first hours after the onset of ischaemic stroke. Interventional correction of hemodynamically significant stenoses of the ICA had permissible levels of 'stroke + mortality from stroke' and lethal outcomes, which reached 3.84% and 1.92%, respectively. Urgent implementation of CAS allows a significant regression of neurological deficit which is stable throughout the entire postoperative period.