The relevance of atrial fibrillation to the safety and efficacy of mechanical thrombectomy in stroke patients.

INTRODUCTION The relevance of atrial fibrillation (AF) to the effect of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in stroke patients is undetermined. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to evaluate the effect of AF on MT in stroke patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS The patients who were qualified for the study underwent MT for stroke; the study analysis focused on the relevance of AF to the safety and efficacy of MT. RESULTS 417 stroke patients (median 70 years) were qualified for the retrospective study. There were 108 patients with AF (25.89%). The mean age of AF patients was significantly higher than that of the patients without AF (mean 73.77 (8.97) vs 65.70 (18.88). The percentage of patients whose functional status was poor on days 10, 30 and 90 was higher among AF patients than that of the patients without AF. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in relation to the percentage of patients with intracranial bleeding or deaths. These parameters had the strongest effect on the functional status on days 10, 30 and 90 following stroke: age, neurological status, and TICI score. CONCLUSIONS AF has a neutral effect on the outcome of MT in patients treated due to acute stroke. Age, degree of post-interventional reperfusion and neurological status in the ultra-acute phase of stroke are crucial for functional status of patients who were subjected to MT. The exposure to anticoagulant therapy before stroke does not increase significantly the risk of intracranial bleeding after MT.