Intra-arterial thrombolysis in patients with acute middle cerebral artery infarction.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of intra-arterial thrombolysis in patients with acute internal middle cerebral artery occlusions. Methods 16 patiens with angiographically documented occlusion of the middle cerebral atrery within 6 hours from stroke onset were treated with intra-arterial urokinase. Recanalization was observed by angiography. In-tracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) was invesgated immediately and 24 hours after the treatment by CT scaning. Barthel Index ( BI) was used to evaluate the recovery of neurological functions 90 days after the treatment. Results The average treatment time was 71 minutes. 13 patients achieved complete recanalization and 3 patients partial recanalization. ICH were observed in 2 patients. One patients died, 90 days later, 13 patiens had a good outcome,2 a median outcome and 1 a died. Conclusions Intra-arterial thrombolysis can obviously improve the recanalization and the outcome.