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Background: The efficacy and safety of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) beyond 6 hours from stroke onset for patients with large vessel occlusion (LVO) selected without CT perfusion(CTP) or MR imaging(MRI) is undetermined. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the current literature comparing outcomes for late presenting patients with LVO treated by best medical management (BMM) with those selected for EVT based only on non-contrast CT(NCCT)/CT angiography(CTA) (without CTP or MRI)., Methods: PRISMA guidelines were employed. The primary outcome was functional independence (modified Rankin Scale 0-2) at 3 months. Secondary outcomes were symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage (sICH) and mortality at 3 months. Data were analysed using the random-effects model., Results: Six studies of 2083 patients, including three randomised controlled trials, were included; 1271 patients were treated with EVT and 812 patients with BMM. Compared to BMM, patients treated with EVT demonstrated higher odds of achieving functional independence (39.0 % EVT vs 22.0 % BMM; OR = 2.55, 95 %CI 1.61-4.05,p < 0.0001, I 2 = 74 %). The rates of sICH (OR = 2.09, 95 %CI 0.86-5.04,p = 0.10) and mortality (OR = 0.62, 95 %CI 0.35-1.10,p = 0.10) were not significantly different between each cohort., Conclusion: Compared to BMM, late presenting stroke patients selected for EVT eligibility with NCCT/CTA only and treated with EVT achieved significantly higher rates of functional independence at 90 days, without increasing the incidence of sICH or mortality. Whilst these findings indicate that NCCT/CTA only may be used for EVT eligibility selection for patients who present beyond 6 hours from stroke onset, the results should be interpreted with caution due to the substantial heterogeneity between studies., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest No disclosures or competing interests declared by the authors., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: This research evaluates the budget impact of treating acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) using a combination of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) with stent retrievers (SR) and intravenous tissue-plasminogen activator (IV-tPA) in Australia., Methods: This study examined the economic impact over five years for a patient cohort based on the number of patients treated with MT+ IV-tPA in Australia 2021, versus treatment with IV-tPA alone. A budget impact (BI) model was developed to project direct medical costs (economic impact) of IV-tPA+ MT with SR vs. Intravenous tissue-plasminogen activator alone over a five-year period (2021-2025 inclusive) from a healthcare perspective. The model is composed of a short-run decision tree model based on a 3-month post-treatment modified Rankin Scale (mRS) from the EXTEND-IA study and a published long-run Markov state transition model. Acute, mid-term and long-term care costs were projected based on anticipated mRS scores from the EXTEND-IA trial. Estimated yearly and cumulative budget impact were reported to indicate the economic impact of the two treatment strategies for AIS in the Australian healthcare system., Results: MT+IV-tPA had a greater budgetary impact than IV-tPA alone, with annual savings starting at Year 1 and continuing through to Year 5. Cost savings of 21% or approximately $36 million can be achieved over five years for the patient cohort treated in Australia in 2021. Each MT procedure performed delivers approximately $3280 in annual health system savings per patient., Conclusion: Treatment of AIS with a combination of MT+IV-tPA generates significant savings in the Australian healthcare system compared with IV-tPA alone., (© 2024 Stryker Neurovascular. Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists.)