1. N Engl J Med. 2015 Jan 1;372(1):11-20. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1411587. Epub 2014 Dec 17. A randomized trial of intraarterial treatment for acute ischemic stroke. MR CLEAN Investigators. N Engl J Med.
2015 Jan 22;372(4):394. Comment: MR CLEAN was the first positive endovascular treatment trial to be reported. Five hundred patients were enrolled across 16 centers in the Netherlands. Eligible patients had a NIHSS of 2 or more, were treated intra-arterially within 6 hours of symptom onset and had an occlusion of the distal intracranial carotid artery (ICA), middle cerebral artery (MCA) (M1 or M2), or anterior cerebral artery (A1 or A2) established by CTA, MRA, or angiography. Patients were randomized to intra-arterial treatment plus usual care or usual care alone. Those in the endovascular group received mechanical thrombectomy, an intra-arterial thrombolytic agent, or both. In the…
