Keywords
mechanical thrombectomy
stroke
How to Cite
Abstract
Acute basilar artery occlusion (BAO) is one of the most severe forms of stroke, associated with high morbidity and mortality. Intravenous thrombolysis with alteplase (rtPA) is the standard recanalization therapy, but the benefits of endovascular
therapy (EVT) in this context remained controversial until recently. The BASICS (Basilar Artery International Cooperation Study) was a multicenter, international, randomized clinical trial that assessed the efficacy and safety of additional EVT compared to best standard medical treatment. This article presents the results of the Brazilian arm of the study, highlighting its importance and impact in our setting. Thirty Brazilian patients with BAO were included, of whom 15 received EVT and 15 were assigned to the control group. The rate of favorable functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] 0–3) at 90 days was 46.7% in the EVT group versus 40.0% in the control group. The mortality rate was 33.3% in the EVT group and 46.7% in the control group. The results were very similar to those found in the overall BASICS trial population and suggest that EVT is a safe and potentially beneficial strategy for patients with BAO, reinforcing the need to expand access to this intervention within the Brazilian public health system (SUS).
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Copyright (c) 2025 Francisco Antunes Dias, Rui Kleber do Vale Martins Filho, Renato Ramon da Cruz, Daniel G Abud, Octavio Marques Pontes Neto