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The benefit of combined treatment with intravenous thrombolysis before endovascular thrombectomy in patients with acute ischaemic stroke caused by large vessel occlusion remains unclear. We hypothesised that the clinical outcomes of patients with stroke with large vessel occlusion treated with direct endovascular thrombectomy within 4·5 h would be non-inferior compared with the outcomes of those treated with standard bridging therapy (intravenous thrombolysis before endovascular thrombectomy).DIRECT-SAFE was an international, multicentre, prospective, randomised, open-label, blinded-endpoint trial. Adult patients with stroke and large vessel occlusion in the intracranial internal carotid artery, middle cerebral artery (M1 or M2), or basilar artery, confirmed by non-contrast CT and vascular imaging, and who presented within 4·5 h of stroke onset were recruited from 25 acute-care hospitals in Australia, New Zealand, China, and Vietnam. Eligible patients were randomly assigned (1:1) via a web-based, computer-generated randomisation procedure stratified by site of baseline arterial occlusion and by geographic region to direct endovascular thrombectomy or bridging therapy. Patients assigned to bridging therapy received intravenous thrombolytic (alteplase or tenecteplase) as per standard care at each site; endovascular thrombectomy was also per standard of care, using the Trevo device (Stryker Neurovascular, Fremont, CA, USA) as first-line intervention. Personnel assessing outcomes were masked to group allocation; patients and treating physicians were not. The primary efficacy endpoint was functional independence defined as modified Rankin Scale score 0-2 or return to baseline at 90 days, with a non-inferiority margin of -0·1, analysed by intention to treat (including all randomly assigned and consenting patients) and per protocol. The intention-to-treat population was included in the safety analyses. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03494920, and is closed to new participants.Between June 2, 2018, and July 8, 2021, 295 patients were randomly assigned to direct endovascular thrombectomy (n=148) or bridging therapy (n=147). Functional independence occurred in 80 (55%) of 146 patients in the direct thrombectomy group and 89 (61%) of 147 patients in the bridging therapy group (intention-to-treat risk difference -0·051, two-sided 95% CI -0·160 to 0·059; per-protocol risk difference -0·062, two-sided 95% CI -0·173 to 0·049). Safety outcomes were similar between groups, with symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage occurring in two (1%) of 146 patients in the direct group and one (1%) of 147 patients in the bridging group (adjusted odds ratio 1·70, 95% CI 0·22-13·04) and death in 22 (15%) of 146 patients in the direct group and 24 (16%) of 147 patients in the bridging group (adjusted odds ratio 0·92, 95% CI 0·46-1·84).We did not show non-inferiority of direct endovascular thrombectomy compared with bridging therapy. The additional information from our study should inform guidelines to recommend bridging therapy as standard treatment.Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and Stryker USA.

The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the effectiveness of the Stryker Leibinger neuronavigation system in surgical resection of hemangioblastomas of the posterior fossa. The study included 16 cases of solid hemangioblastoma of posterior cranial fossa treated since we began using Stryker Leibinger neuronavigation system-assisted microneurosurgery in 2003. These cases were compared on the basis of time, blood loss, and complications to 19 similar cases of solid hemangioblastoma that underwent conventional microneurosurgical resection prior to 2003. All patients in the experimental (neuronavigation-assisted) group underwent surgical resection without complications while the control groups' resections all involved blood loss related to the longer operation time. Neuronavigation also resulted in a clear field of surgical vision and clear lesion boundaries, making it easier to remove lesions and reduce accidental injury of adjacent normal structures. The application of navigation technology is very valuable for solid hemangioblastoma operations not only by shortening operative time, thereby significantly reducing operative blood loss, but also by making surgical excision easier, reducing damage to adjacent normal structures, and decreasing surgical complications and mortality.

Paradoxical herniation (PH) is a life-threatening emergency after decompressive craniectomy. In the current study, we examined patient survival in patients who developed PH after decompressive craniectomy versus those who did not. Risk factors for, and management of, PH were also analyzed. This retrospective analysis included 429 consecutive patients receiving decompressive craniectomy during a period from January 2007 to December 2012. Mortality rate and Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) were compared between those who developed PH (n = 13) versus those who did not (n = 416). A stepwise multivariate logistic regression analysis was carried out to examine the risk factors for PH. The overall mortality in the entire sample was 22.8%, with a median follow-up of 6 months. Oddly enough, all 13 patients who developed PH survived beyond 6 months. Glasgow Coma Scale did not differ between the 2 groups upon admission, but GOS was significantly higher in subjects who developed PH. Both the disease type and coma degree were comparable between the 13 PH patients and the remaining 416 patients. In all PH episodes, patients responded to emergency treatments that included intravenous hydration, cerebral spinal fluid drainage discontinuation, and Trendelenburg position. A regression analysis indicated the following independent risk factors for PH: external ventriculostomy, lumbar puncture, and continuous external lumbar drainage. The rate of PH is approximately 3% after decompressive craniectomy. The most intriguing findings of the current study were the 0% mortality in those who developed PH versus 23.6% mortality in those who did not develop PH and significant difference of GOS score at 6-month follow-up between the 2 groups, suggesting that PH after decompressive craniectomy should be managed aggressively. The risk factors for PH include external ventriculostomy, ventriculoperitoneal shunt, lumbar puncture, and continuous external lumbar drainage.