Thrombolysis for cerebral ischemia - a review

Thrombolytic therapy for acute ischemic stroke within the 3-h time window h as been approved. In the US, where FDA approval has existed for about 4 yea rs, less than 2% of stroke patients presently receive thrombolytic therapy. This review illustrates all completed trials of intravenous and intra-arte rial thrombolytic therapy for carotid artery and vertebrobasilar artery str oke and includes recommendations for therapy, diagnostic procedures and the ir effect on patient selection, meta-analyses, phase IV trials, and cost ef ficacy analyses.