Intra-arterial thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke

Intra-arterial thrombolysis is a maturing treatment for acute thromboemboli c stroke that shows promise in restoring cerebral blood supply. Reviewed ev idence suggests that intra-arterial treatment has a longer window for treat ment than intravenous t-PA and does improve outcome. A favorable outcome is dependent on careful patient selection aimed at avoiding intracranial hemo rrhage. This article describes features to evaluate for patient selection a nd highlights factors along the treatment algorithm to maximize success.