Does Combined Prehospital & In-hospital RIC Improve Acute Stroke Outcomes?

This Journal Watch discusses the study details (table 1) and key findings of “ Remote Ischemic Conditioning for Acute Stroke The RESIST Randomized Clinical Trial ,” a study published in JAMA 2023 . 1 What was the rationale of the study? Poor functional outcomes often follow stroke. This has provided an impetus for the development of adjunctive cerebroprotective therapies that preserve the viability and function of brain cells.

2  Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) is a simple, non-invasive procedure that enhances collateral blood flow in the ischemic areas and reduces post-stroke inflammation. In preclinical and clinical studies, RIC with transient cycles of limb ischemia and reperfusion on the upper extremity has shown distant organ protection. 3 Despite this promising data, it is still uncertain if RIC initiated in a prehospital setting with transient cycles of limb ischemia and…