The FIRST Trial, a prospective, multi-center study sponsored by Penumbra, has helped show that performing Intra-Arterial treatmentm a minimally invasive surgery utilizing specialty devices to snare or dissolve clots that are blocking blood flow in the brain, may prove effective in treating acute ischemic stroke patients, according to the Society of Neurointerventional Surgery.
The FIRST Trial included 62 patients all of whom met the criteria for IA therapy. Results showed that only 10 percent of patients experienced a restoration of blood flow in the affected brain vessel and only 20.7 percent of patients were functionally independent at 90 days after their stroke event.
When the results of this trial were compared to previous studies designed to assess the effectiveness of IA therapy utilizing devices, there were notable differences. Blood flow was restored in around 85 percent of patients treated with IA therapy as compared to 10 percent of the untreated patients in the FIRST Trial.
More Articles on Spine:
The CORE Institute's Management Company Partners with MedSynergies3 Spine Surgeons on the Use of Robotics in the Operating Room
The Hospital for Spinal Surgery is Renamed