Table 2.
Associations between thrombus components and stroke treatment success, etiology, imaging, and clinical outcomes.
| Clot Component | Treatment Success | Etiology | Imaging Markers | Clinical Outcome/Severity/Prognosis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RBC | Associated with favorable reperfusion outcomes [41,44,50,53] No significant association [32,37,38,56] |
Associated with LAA or non-cardioembolic origin [32,34,40,44] Associated with the cardioembolic origin [37,50] No significant association [38,51] |
Associated with higher attenuation on NCCT or HMCAS [39,40,42,44,50,54] Associated with positive SVS [37,53] No significant association [32,65] Associated with increased perviousness [55] |
No significant association [60] |
| Polyhedrocytes | Associated with worse reperfusion outcome [66] | None found | None found | Associated with higher NIHSS score [66] |
| Platelets/Fibrin | Associated with worse reperfusion outcomes [35,60] No significant association [32,37,38,56] |
Associated with cardioembolic origin [32,34,35,49] Associated with LAA or non-cardioembolic origin [50] No significant association [38,40] Platelets (without fibrin) higher in LAA origin [56] |
Associated with negative SVS [37] Associated with isodense clots on NCCT [51] Associated with decreased perviousness [39,55] Associated with increased perviousness [49,67] |
Higher chance of distal embolism [35] No significant association [60] |
| WBCs | Associated with worse reperfusion outcomes [42] | Associated with cardioembolic origin [34,35,42] | Associated with decreased perviousness [55] | Associated with higher NIHSS score at discharge [42] Associated with higher mRS score at 90 days [42] |
| NETs | Associated with worse reperfusion outcomes [63,68] | Associated with the cardioembolic origin [63] | None found | Associated with higher NIHSS score at discharge [64] Associated with higher mRS score at 90 days [64] |
| VWF | Associated with worse reperfusion outcomes [57] | None found | None found | Associated with higher pre-intervention NIHSS score [57] |
| Extracellular DNA | None found | Associated with the cardioembolic origin [69] | None found | None found |
| Endothelial Cells | None found | None found | None found | None found |
| Bacteria | Associated with worse reperfusion outcomes [43] | Associated with infectious pathologies [7,43] | None found | None found |
| Calcifications | Associated with worse reperfusion outcomes [48,70] | None found | Associated with rounder and more hyperdense clots on imaging [71] | Associated with higher mortality and recurrent stroke [72] |
| Other | Vascular wall components are associated with increased thrombectomy passes [52] | None found | None found | None found |
Abbreviations: RBC red blood cell; LAA large artery atherosclerosis; NCCT non-contrast computed tomography; HMCAS hyperdense middle cerebral artery sign; SVS susceptibility vessel sign; NIHSS National Institutes of Health Stroke Scales; WBC white blood cell; mRS modified Rankin Scale; NET neutrophil extracellular trap; VWF von Willebrand factor.