Table 1. Summary of characteristics of included studies.
| First Author (Year) | Study type | Inclusion criteria | Comparison | Number of cases | Age (years) | Men, n | Median baseline NIHSS score | Time from stroke onset to treatment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IAT | IVT | (%) | |||||||
| Ciccone A (2013) | RCT | Age 18–80; Stroke onset to initiation of IVT was defined as within 4.5 hours or for the administration of IAT treatment within 6 hours. | Endovascular treatment § | tPA | 181 vs. 181 | 66 vs. 67 | 59 vs. 57 | 13 vs. 13 | Median 225 (194–260) vs. 165 (140–200) mins |
| Ciccone A (2010) | RCT | Age 18–80; Stroke onset to initiation of IVT was defined as within 3 hours or for the administration of IAT treatment within 6 hours. | Alteplase | Alteplase | 25 vs. 29 | 61 vs. 64 | 76 vs.79 | 17 vs. 16 | Median 195 (170–240) vs. 155 (135–170) mins |
| Zhang B (2010) | Prospective | Age 18–80; NIHSS score 4–24; | tPA | Alteplase | 23 vs. 55 | 62 vs. 67 | 78 vs. 75 | 9 vs. 9 | Mean 4.6 ± 1.3 vs. 3.1 ± 0.5 hrs |
| Sen S (2009) | RCT | Age>18; NIHSS≧4 or isolated aphasia or isolated hemianopsia; Time of presentation <3 h from symptom onset. | tPA | tPA | 3 vs. 4 | All: 68 | All: 71 | All: 16 | Mean 120 ± 42 vs. 95 ± 35 mins a |
| Mattle HP (2008) | Prospective | Treated with IVT in the 3-hour window. Treated with IAT in the 6-hour window; | Urokinase | tPA | 55 vs. 57 | 61 vs. 61 | 61 vs. 67 | Mean: 17.5 vs. 16.7 | Mean 244 ± 63 vs. 156 ± 21 mins |
| Ducrocq X (2005) | RCT | Age 18–79; Scandinavian Stroke Scale score ≦50; Onset to treatment within 6 hours. | Urokinase | Urokinase | 13 vs. 14 | 60 vs. 58 | 92 vs. 64 | NA | Mean 5.24 vs. 4.16 hrs |
| Furlan A (1999) | RCT | Age 18–85; NIHSS score≧4 or isolated aphasia or isolated hemianopsia; Onset to treatment within 6 hours. | Prourokinase (IAT)+ heparin (IVT) | Heparin (IVT) | 121 vs. 59 | 64 vs. 64 | 58 vs. 61 | 17 vs. 17 | Median 4.7 (4.0–5.3) vs. 5.1 (4.2–5.5) hrs b |
| Lewandowski CA (1999) | RCT | Age≦84; NIHSS score>5 | tPA (IVT+IAT) | tPA (IAT) | 17 vs. 18 | 66 vs. 67 | 53 vs. 56 | 16 vs. 11 | Median 2.6 (2.3–2.8) vs. 2.7 (1.9–2.9) hrs |
RCT: randomized controlled trial; NA: not available; IAT: intra-arterial thrombolysis; IVT: intravenous thrombolysis; tPA: tissue plasminogen activator; NIHSS: National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; mins, minutes; hrs, hours;
§, endovascular treatment included IAT of tPA, mechanical thrombolysis or both;
a, time from arrival to initiation of thrombolysis;
b, time from stroke onset to randomization