Early management of patients with acute ischemic stroke#
IV alteplase eligibility#
Indications (Class I Recommendations– Recommended Care)
If within 3 hours of onset and:
≥ 18 years of age
Severe stroke
Mild but disabiling stroke
If 3-4.5 hours from onset,18-80 years of age, and:
Without a history of both diabetes mellitus and prior stroke
NIHSS score ≤25
Not taking any OACs
Without imaging evidence of ischemic injury involving more than one third of the MCA territory
If BP can be lowered safely and maintained < 185/110 mm Hg
With blood glucose > 50 mg/dL
With mild to moderate early ischemic changes on NCCT
With antiplatelet drug monotherapy or combination therapy
With end stage renal disease with normal aPTT
Additional Recommendations (Class IIa and IIb).
Situations requiring individual patient risk benefit assessment for which administration of IV alteplase may be considered
details see [Warner et al., 2019]
Evaluate for Mechanical Thrombectomy (< 24 hours)#
Evaluation for IV alteplase and evaluation for mechanical thrombectomy happens simultaneously
Within 6 hours:
Prestroke mRS score 0–1
Causative occlusion of the ICA or proximal MCA (M1)
Age ≥18 years
NIHSS score of ≥6
ASPECTS of ≥6
Within 6-24 hours
Causative occlusion of the ICA or M1
Meets eligibility criteria for DAWN or DEFUSE3 trials
6 to 24 hours: see figure above
Pratit Patel, Dileep Yavagal, and Priyank Khandelwal. Hyperacute management of ischemic strokes: jacc focus seminar. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 75(15):1844–1856, 2020.
John J Warner, Robert A Harrington, Ralph L Sacco, and Mitchell SV Elkind. Guidelines for the early management of patients with acute ischemic stroke: 2019 update to the 2018 guidelines for the early management of acute ischemic stroke. 2019.