A randomized multicenter trial shows that patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke under general anesthesia fare better neurologically at three months than those under moderate sedation.

The UTHealth Houston-led study finds that general anesthesia leads to improved three-month outcomes compared with moderate sedation during thrombectomy.

Experts suggest these results could prompt updates to treatment guidelines for endovascular therapy in acute ischemic stroke.

Co-investigator notes a statistical model helped determine an efficient sample size and reinforces the benefit of anesthesia involvement for procedural teams.

The principal investigator emphasizes that involving an anesthesiologist improves patient comfort and enables faster, safer intervention.

This study is presented as the first randomized, controlled multicenter evidence showing outcome differences between anesthesia techniques for this stroke treatment.

Background: endovascular therapy (mechanical thrombectomy) uses catheters to remove clots and is performed under either moderate sedation or general anesthesia.

A total of 260 patients were enrolled and randomized to receive either general anesthesia or moderate sedation during thrombectomy.