Taiwan Registry of Endovascular Thrombectomy for Acute Ischemic Stroke

Stroke is the second leading cause of death and third leading cause of disability worldwide. Until recently, intravenous recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (r-tPA) was the only therapy that was proven to be effective for acute ischemic stroke (AIS). However, the effect of rt-PA was limited in stroke patients with large artery occlusion. In 2015, there were five randomized controlled trials of endovascular therapy (EVT) for AIS. The significant positive results indicated an evolution of treatment for AIS in selected patients. Nevertheless, because previous EVT trials recruited mainly Caucasians as trial participants, little is known about racial differences in endovascular treatment.

In Taiwan, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has approved the application of EVT in AIS and the National Health Insurance also started to pay the devices for EVT in AIS patients fulfilling certain conditions in recent years. Therefore, it is important to have a prospective registration to evaluate the efficacy and safety in AIS patients receiving EVT in Taiwan.

Taiwan Registry of Endovascular Thrombectomy for Acute Ischemic Stroke is a multi-centers registration. It starts in Jan 2019. The key items in the registration form include basic demographic profiles, past medical history, time of stroke onset, stroke severity (NIH stroke scale), whether to have rt-PA treatment, pre-EVT imaging, type of devices, status of recanalization, complication and other associated parameters for EVT, and 3 months post stroke outcome. The study also includes a standardized imaging analysis for the quantification of the de-identified imaging data from participates.

In summary, the registry will provide the valuable information for AIS patients receiving EVT in Twain.