The results of the Endovascular Therapy Following Imaging
Evaluation for the Ischemic Stroke (DEFUSE 3) trial, presented at the International Stroke Conference 2018 in Los Angeles and published on Jan. 24 in the New England Journal of Medicine, demonstrated that physically removing brain clots up to 16 hours after symptom onset in selected patients led to improved outcomes compared to standard medical therapy.
Because of the importance of rapid treatment, national guidelines recommend that hospitals complete the
evaluation of patients with acute
ischemic stroke and begin intravenous tPA therapy
for eligible patients within 60 minutes of hospital arrival.