Is General Anesthesia for Endovascular Thrombectomy Helpful or Harmful?

Abstract

Endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) has significantly improved outcomes for patients with acute ischemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion. However, despite advances, more than half of patients remain functionally dependent 3 months after their initial stroke. Anesthetic strategy may influence both the technical success of the procedure and overall outcomes. Conventionally, general anesthesia (GA) has been widely used for neuroendovascular procedures, particularly for the distal intracranial circulation, because the complete absence of movement has been considered imperative for procedural success and to minimize complications. In contrast, in patients with acute stroke undergoing EVT, the optimal anesthetic strategy is controversial. Nonrandomized studies suggest GA negatively affects outcomes while the more recent anesthesia-specific RCTs report improved or unchanged outcomes in patients managed with versus without GA, although these findings cannot be generalized to other EVT capable centers due to a number of limitations. Potential explanations for these contrasting results will be addressed in this review including the effect of different anesthetic strategies on cerebral and systemic hemodynamics, revascularization times, and periprocedural complications.